EDMONTON, Alberta and NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has selected Stantec to provide advisory services during the preparation and implementation of its US$350 million Mongolia Water Compact with the Mongolian Government. The compact’s Water Supply Project aims to provide viable, sustainable bulk water supply solutions for the Mongolian people and is designed to increase the water supply to the capital city by 80 percent, servicing Ulaanbaatar’s population of more than 1.4 million people.

“Ulaanbaatar faces urgent issues related to its water supply and infrastructure that mirror challenges experienced in other parts of the world. Our team’s technical expertise in the water sector will allow us to help ensure the community thrives for years to come,” said Rebecca Grandi, business operations manager for Stantec’s North American International Development Team. “Since 2006, we’ve supported the mission of the Millennium Challenge Corporation on projects around the globe and we look forward to building on our record of success.”

The population of Ulaanbaatar has tripled in the last 30 years and the influx of new residents has significantly strained the city’s water supply to the point that demand could exceed supply as soon as 2021. A water shortage of this magnitude would restrict economic growth and impede quality of life. In addition to rapid urbanization and insufficient water infrastructure, climate change has had a significant impact on the city’s natural water supply.

In its advisory role, Stantec will make recommendations to MCC regarding the appropriateness, accuracy, and completeness of the various elements of the project, including compliance with accepted international standards as well as MCC’s guidelines and technical requirements. This includes the construction of new groundwater wells, a water purification plant, a wastewater recycling plant, and nearly 100 kilometers (62 miles) of large diameter pipelines. Stantec will also advise MCC on the implementation of policy, regulatory, and institutional reforms to ensure the long-term sustainability of the city’s water supply.

The Government of Mongolia is contributing an additional US$111.8 million to support the investment, ranking among the largest partner contributions in the history of MCC.

MCC is an independent US Government agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth. Created by the US Congress in 2004, the corporation provides time-limited grants and assistance to low- and lower-middle income countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance. Stantec has worked with MCC in an advisory capacity since 2006 on projects in Sierra Leone, Niger, and Zambia.

Stantec’s International Development Group combines decades of expertise in providing sustainable solutions to deep-rooted development challenges with local knowledge and perspective to support international donors and financial institutions in improving the design, implementation, and oversight of development programs throughout the world. The team helps developing countries to achieve resilient and equitable growth, transition to lower carbon economies, and protect water and other natural resources.

About Stantec

Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That's why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind.

We care about the communities we serve—because they're our communities too. This allows us to assess what's needed and connect our expertise, to appreciate nuances and envision what's never been considered, to bring together diverse perspectives so we can collaborate toward a shared success.

We're designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe.

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testXXX was conceived by APCOM to close the gap between the HIV prevalence among men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) in Asian cities and the rate of HIV testing within the community. It was first piloted in Bangkok called testBKK and then implemented with much success in several metropolitan cities across Asia, such as Hong Kong, Manila and Jakarta. The primary online digital campaign has recently branched out to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, under the name of test4UB.

With technical assistance from APCOM, test4UB is led by Youth for Health (YFH), the first established organization for MSM in the country, whose mission is to improve knowledge, attitude and practice on sexual health and prevention of HIV and STIs among the MSM community. The initiative is a major component of demand generation (DG) under The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria multi country grant called Sustainability of HIV Services for Key Populations in Asia Program (SKPA), of which APCOM is one of the Regional Network partners and AFAO in Bangkok the Principal Recipient.

test4UB was exclusively launched by YFH in two series of events a series of two events as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic situation where the Mongolian government has implemented regulations on large gatherings due to social distancing.

Its big launch was held on Saturday, 22 August 2020 at the Holiday Inn in Ulaanbaatar. Along with the unveiling of test4UB’s website and social media presence, the evening event was packed with performances of singers and most notably, a lip-syncing performance from fabulous androgyny model Lana Münh. While the DJ pumped up energetic beats, audiences were entertained and taken to the next level by a jaw-dropping performance from sexy male dancers. On a pre-recorded video played during the opening sequence of the event, APCOM’s Executive Director Midnight Poonkasetwattana said, “It is really exciting that APCOM has been able to support test4UB as a campaign that may not only complements the existing interventions at country level, but also incorporate innovations to reach those that are not get reached. Many, many congratulations to all involved, particularly in ensuring that despite COVID-19 pandemic, YFH is taking strong leadership in the region.”

Comprised mostly of community members and prominent stakeholders, the grand launching event was well-received, in particular the campaign’s branding identity and key messages. Campaign-related material, such as educational comic books, the “coming-out” books, fact sheets and other IEC materials were given to guests. It was estimated that approximately 120 people attended the event. Plans for on-the-spot rapid HIV testing had to be canceled due to safety regulation issues, but the event facilitated registration for those who were interested in the PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) demonstration project, which is also part of the SKPA program. It was well noted that YFH partner, Marie Stopes Mongolia donated 1000 condoms for the launch.

The second event was held one week after on Saturday, 29 August 2020 at Guru Camp. The whole-day event exclusively focused on community members was attended by approximately 100 people. Situated in a beautiful area surrounded by mountains, the event featured an informative lecture on PrEP and OraQuick, the kit for HIV self-testing which also being used for CBT.

Embarking with the “TEST. PrEP. SEX. REPEAT.” slogan, test4UB aims to boost promotion of PrEP as an innovative intervention, and increase the uptake of HIV testing among the MSM community in Mongolia. While focusing on covering Ulaanbaatar as the largest city, the campaign will reach a wider MSM audience who had previously not been reached and therefor will also serve as the focal center for information regarding HIV, STIs and other sexual health issues.

“It is great honor to be a part of APCOM-initiated demand generation for PrEP to improve HIV case finding and reduce prevalence. Together we would bring AIDS-free future closer,” YFH Executive Director Myagmardorj Dorjgotov says.

Following its launch, test4UB is more than ready to blend creativity, technology, innovation and community involvement to change the attitude and behavior of MSM towards their sexual health. New online digital interventions as well as activation outreach at key community events are expected to come.

As a start, test4UB’s website which is available for both English and Mongolian visitors, comes with a mobile-friendly user interface that intuitively guides viewers by navigating them through topics, such as testing and remaining HIV negative by staying safe. It further more, offers guidance regarding living a healthy life style if tested positive. In just over a month after the launching date, the website has received a warm welcome from Mongolia and hit almost 10,000 page views.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) plan to make climate financing available for climate mitigation and resilience projects in Mongolia.

Smaller firms in Mongolia will benefit from new opportunities to make their businesses more energy efficient and productive thanks to a $4 million loan provided by the EBRD and GCF to XacLeasing, one of the country’s largest financial leasing companies, the EBRD said on September 21.

Hannes Takacs, EBRD Associate Director, Head of Mongolia, noted that for the first time the EBRD is making leasing loans for climate mitigation and resilience projects available to small businesses in Mongolia. “Broadening access to leasing, including widening the range of available leasing products, is one of the Bank’s priorities in the country. We are delighted to partner with our longstanding client, XacLeasing, a leasing company that has the expertise and reach to support that strategic goal,” he said.

The loan is being made available under the EBRD’s Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) in Mongolia and blends $1 million of GCF concessional finance with $3 million of EBRD finance, the bank said.

According to the EBRD, XacLeasing is the first leasing company to join GEFF Mongolia and will offer leases to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) for investments in high-performing technologies that improve the use of energy and water resources.

The leases will cover investments in technologies such as energy-efficient production machinery, agricultural irrigation and rainwater harvesting equipment. Beneficiaries can identify climate-friendly technologies with the help of the Green Technology Selector and dedicated technical support is available through a consultancy team funded by the GCF and Japan.

GEFF Mongolia supports gender activities that aim to enhance equal opportunities for men and women to access finance for green technologies, the bank said, adding that it builds on the success of the EBRD’s previous Sustainable Energy Financing Facility in Mongolia that enabled small businesses to finance over 35 energy efficiency and renewable energy investments with a combined value of over to $20 million.

The EBRD GEFF programme operates through an aggregate network of more than 140 local financial institutions across 27 countries, supported by almost €4.2 billion of EBRD finance for 160,000 clients since it began. These projects have led to annual CO2 emissions reductions of more than 8.6 million tonnes.

The partnership between the Green Climate Fund and the EBRD has seen the GCF support seven EBRD programmes with US$ 1.08 billion, catalysing more than US$ 2.7 billion co-financing. The GCF is the largest climate fund in the world to support the efforts of developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change.

In Mongolia, the EBRD works to help build a diverse economy by developing the private sector and supporting infrastructure improvements. The Bank has invested more than €1.8 billion in 113 projects in the country since it started operations there in 2006.

After several years of strong economic growth, Mongolia - like many countries across the world - has been hit by a major economic shock due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to prompt action by the government, Mongolia has avoided a domestic COVID-19 outbreak and limited the size of the economic downturn.

We interviewed Geoff Gottlieb, mission chief to Mongolia of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to dive into issues concerning the Mongolian economy, financial sector, state budget, and policy rate.

Relaying that IMF stands ready to continue to help Mongolia fulfill its outstanding economic potential and improve living standards for all Mongolians, Gottlieb encourages the authorities to address the incomplete reform agenda from the last IMF-supported program by reducing deficits, building foreign exchange reserves, and strengthening the banking system

What is your outlook on Mongolia’s economy post COVID-19?

The economy has begun to recover due to a resumption in mineral exports, the increase in government spending, and the gradual lifting of measures aimed to prevent the domestic spread of the virus. Mongolia has also continued to benefit from substantial support from the international community, including the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument, which provided 99 million USD to Mongolia in June. As a result, we project a sharp rebound in growth in the second half of the year (a contraction of more than 1 percent on the year) and a return to positive annual growth in 2021.

More broadly, Mongolia has fantastic economic potential, particularly in mining, agriculture, and tourism. Mongolia’s relatively small population, untapped resources, and access to a large and fast-growing market on its border is a combination that many countries would envy. To make the most of this, the investment climate would benefit from less volatile fiscal and monetary policy, a more predictable regulatory environment for investors, and better transport infrastructure for key commodities. The IMF stands ready to help Mongolia reach its potential in any way we can.

What were the key successes Mongolia achieved through the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility?

The Mongolian authorities, with support of the Extended Fund Facility, successfully averted a default on public debt and laid the foundation for a sharp recovery in Mongolians’ living standards. The key policy change behind this success was a decisive turn away from excessive budget deficits and off-budgetary spending. This helped reduce public debt from 88 percent of GDP to 70 percent of GDP in three years, thereby freeing up resources to support the economy and the Mongolian people, as it has during the pandemic this year.

Parliament approved the 2020 state budget amendment on August 28, with a record high deficit of 4.8 trillion MNT (12.5 percent of GDP). Regarding this, would you say that the government is backtracking from all of the progress it made through the Extended Fund Facility?

It is important to give the government credit for avoiding a domestic outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, the government made the right decision in allowing a temporary rise in the deficit this year. A bigger deficit can help reduce the size of the recession and limit the social impact of the pandemic. At the same time, the size of the increase in the deficit this year was very large for a country with still high debt. Going forward, it will be important to ensure that budget deficits return to sustainable levels so that the government can help the Mongolian people on a lasting basis.

How are you assessing the government’s expenditure for this year? What expenses could the government cut down on?

When the pandemic hit, the government appropriately acknowledged new priorities, including health-related spending. This has helped reduce the social impact of the pandemic. Nonetheless, government spending has now risen almost 70 percent in two years. We would encourage the government to return to more sustainable spending levels as the pandemic recedes. Ultimately, the government of Mongolia, Parliament, and the Mongolian people are best placed to decide which government programs are most essential.

Mongolia has upcoming debts. With the growing uncertainty in the local and global economies, what should Mongolia focus on now?

Indeed, the global environment remains highly uncertain and the government of Mongolia has large external bonds coming due. To successfully manage these maturing debts, the key priorities for the government are to work toward smaller deficits starting with the 2021 budget and to steadily increase the Bank of Mongolia’s foreign exchange reserves.

The government has raised the monthly cash allowances to children (children’s money) from 20,000 MNT to 100,000 MNT until end-2020. Many experts speculated that this could flatten the welfare system. What is your opinion on this?

Mongolia’s Child Money program has several positive aspects to it: it can have broad coverage of the poor, it is relatively easy to administer, and there is broad social and political support for it. Nonetheless, we would encourage the government of Mongolia to seek more ways to use the budget overall to reduce inequality. The current system in Mongolia – with a flat personal income tax rate (as opposed to higher rates for the wealthy) and a similarly flat social transfer system (as opposed to providing larger sums to those most in need) benefits the wealthiest Mongolians more than the poorest Mongolians.

What are you most concerned about in the financial/banking system and what do you propose to do?

The two key priorities are determining whether banks have enough capital and ensuring that the Bank of Mongolia can credibly require banks to address any capital shortfalls. A 2019 forensic audit confirmed that most of the capital that select banks claimed to have raised in recent years was not found to be legitimate. And the pandemic has likely reduced banks’ health further given the contraction in the economy. Ensuring banks have enough capital both protects Mongolians’ deposits and allows banks to lend to the private sector in a sustainable way.

Inflation is well below the Bank of Mongolia’s 8 percent target and the exchange rate continues to depreciate. Do you agree with the recent decision to reduce the policy rate? What do you think are the monetary policy priorities for Mongol Bank?

We are not worried about inflation being below the Bank of Mongolia’s target. The current target of 8 percent is among the highest in the world and too high for Mongolia. Moreover, inflation of 2 to 3 percent is not a problem for the economy. Instead, we believe the Bank of Mongolia should focus in the near-term on building foreign exchange reserves. Having a stronger balance sheet is critical if the Bank of Mongolia wants to achieve low and stable inflation over time.

US President Donald Trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses November's election.

"Well, we'll have to see what happens," the president told a news conference at the White House. "You know that."

Mr Trump voiced concern about ballots, an apparent reference to postal voting, which he argues is susceptible to fraud even though he has voted in this way.

More states are encouraging mail-in voting, citing the need to keep voters safe amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Trump was asked by a reporter on Wednesday evening if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power "win, lose or draw" to Democrat Joe Biden.

"I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots," Mr Trump, a Republican, said. "And the ballots are a disaster."

When the journalist countered that "people are rioting", Mr Trump interjected: "Get rid of the ballots, and you'll have a very - you'll have a very peaceful - there won't be a transfer, frankly, there'll be a continuation."

Back in 2016, Mr Trump also refused to commit to accepting the election results in his contest against the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, which she characterised as an attack on American democracy.

He was eventually declared the winner, although he lost the popular vote by three million, an outcome on which he still cast doubt.

Earlier on Wednesday, the president defended his decision to seek the appointment of a new Supreme Court justice before the vote to fill the vacancy left by the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, saying he expects the election results to end up before the court.

"I think this [the election] will end up in the Supreme Court, and I think it's very important that we have nine justices," the president said.

"I think it's better if you go before the election, because I think this scam that the Democrats are pulling, it's a scam, the scam will be before the United States Supreme Court."

Mr Trump was apparently referring again to his much-disputed claims that mail-in ballots are vulnerable to fraud.

The president has said he will name a female nominee for the court this Saturday. She would replace Justice Ginsburg, who died last Friday.

Mr Trump's supporters hope his nominee, if confirmed by the US Senate, will cement a 6-3 conservative ascendancy on the nation's highest court for the forseeable future.

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. According to the decision of the State Emergency Commission, 11 charter flights will be organized in October to repatriate about 2700 Mongolian citizens from abroad as follows:

Nur-Sultan-Ulaanbaatar on October 4

Seoul-Ulaanbaatar on October 8

Tokyo-Ulaanbaatar on October 10

Seoul-Ulaanbaatar on October 12

Seoul-Ulaanbaatar on October 16 /transit/

Seoul-Ulaanbaatar on October 17

Seoul-Ulaanbaatar on October 18

Seoul-Ulaanbaatar on October 19

Seoul-Ulaanbaatar on October 20

Frankfurt-Ulaanbaatar on October 23

For the 11th flight in route of Seattle-Ulaanbaatar, its date is not clear yet.

Last year, the Mongolian Cabinet approved a project for establishing an eco-zone at the Khuvsgul Lake National Park with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank; it also decided to limit the number of tourism licenses for the area. However, there are still a total of 98 tourist camps operating in banks of the lake. In addition, some 500 locals and 30 enterprises make money from providing horse riding and boat trips. This affects the eco system of Lake Khuvsgul which holds 70 percent of Mongolia’s fresh water reserves.

Khuvsgul is one of the 17 oldest lakes in the world. It is 1,645 metres (5,397 feet) above sea level, 136 kilometres (85 miles) long and 262 metres (860 feet) deep.

Ger and chalet camps have increased around the lake due to the sharp rise in the number of local and foreign tourists. In 2013, Lake Khuvsgul was visited by 23000 tourists – within five years this had tripled to 120000.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On September 23, Prime Minister of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh received delegates led by United Nations Resident Coordinator in Mongolia Tapan Mishra.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed the solid support of the United Nations to Mongolia for its combat and prevention against the COVID-19 pandemic and asked to continue working together for economic recovery and repatriation of Mongolian nationals abroad.

The UN Mongolia Resident Coordinator conveyed to the Prime Minister that COVID-19 revealed that government of Mongolia could strongly benefit from a comprehensive and coherent program to maintain and deepen the relationship between the country and its citizens abroad. Moreover, he highlighted that the Mongolian government’s decision to increase monthly allowance for children to MNT 100,000 was an adequate solution as strict restrictions had been imposed in the country in the wake of the pandemic.

After introducing about the UN measures being taken to overcome the economic and social difficulties caused by COVID-19, the UN delegates also pledged to give wide-ranging assistance to Mongolia in the future. The sides also agreed to cooperate on establishing a multilateral partnership platform for a complex financial solution to ensure nationwide implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. At today’s meeting of the cabinet, Chair of the Cabinet Secretariat L.Oyun-Erdene delivered a presentation on the recent working trip by Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh to Dakhan-uul and Selenge aimags. Concerning the report, the cabinet has given following orders to corresponding cabinet ministers, agencies and local governors, and assigned them to submit proposals and drafts for cabinet discussion once ready.

- To coordinate the market competition for domestic manufacturing of cement and provide necessary support to cement export.

- To conduct the selection of a consulting service for Bogdkhan Railway project in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank

- To intensify expansion and renovation of the 204.11 km long auto road between Ulaanbaatar and Darkhan cities, and settle needed funding for ensuring safety until the re-selection is performed on the sections, of which construction contracts have been withdrawn

- To complete repair and maintenance of roads around the harvesting areas in the nearest future

- To allow only intensive livestock husbandry in agrarian areas

- To tackle issues related to infrastructure investment and other issues of Darkhan Leather Complex project.

- To integrate Darkhan-Urgoo Polytechnic College and Polytechnic College for Mining and Energy into a Vocational Training Center for Agriculture and Industry.

- To extend the working period of students who are being mobilized in the harvesting campaign until October 15, 2020 and resolve pressing issues.

Also, during the session, the cabinet decided to cut nighttime electricity cost in aimag centers, soums and other residential areas with 10,000 inhabitants or more by 100 percent. Previously, the residents in these regions were enjoying 50 percent discount on their nighttime electricity bill.

The cabinet also approved the geographic coordinate of areas for widespread mineral exploration and exploitation required for the construction of 18.82 km auto road by Ulgii city on the Asian Highway 4 route and a 201-meter concrete bridge.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ At its regular meeting on September 23, the Cabinet authorized Tavantolgoi Railway company to construct the basic track structure of a 22 km railroad connecting Tavantolgoi Gashuusukhait and Tavantolgoi-Zuunbayan railroads and assigned relevant Ministers to develop the engineering design, carry out environmental impact assessment, and begin the project within this year. The necessary estimated funding will be provided by Erdenes-Tavantolgoi company.

It is estimated that the exploitation of coal, copper, coal, tungsten, zinc and fluorspar deposits of Tavantolgoi, Tsagaansuvarga, Aduunchuluun, Chandgana, Talbulag, and Khuut will increase annual exports to around 50 million tons and rail freight volume 3.5-fold.

The Cabinet also instructed relevant Ministers to approve a plan coordinating Tavantolgoi coal deposit mining and infrastructure development projects and programs and to oversee its implementation.