The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will invest 500 million U.S. dollars to support a Chinese green project, its first sovereign-backed financing in China.
The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Low Carbon Energy Transition and Air Quality Improvement Project aims to increase the availability of natural gas to help reduce coal consumption and related emissions in the region surrounding China's capital, the bank said Tuesday in a statement.
The project involves the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Tianjin's Binhai District, covering LNG receiving, storage and re-gasification facilities and an unloading wharf.
Once completed, the project is expected to reduce coal consumption by 11.9 million tonnes per year and help improve air quality by cutting coal combustion-related emissions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
"The project will support China's efforts to fulfill its commitments under the Paris Agreement, and strengthen and contribute to the global response to the threat of climate change," said AIIB Vice President and Chief Investment Officer D.J. Pandian.
With this project, AIIB can augment its institutional capacity and expertise in LNG infrastructure for similar projects proposed by other members, the statement said.
AIIB, launched in Beijing in October 2014, is a multilateral development bank that aims to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.
