General Financing Agreement signed with EBRD www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ General Financing Agreement between the Government of Mongolia and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was signed by Minister of Finance Ch.Khurelbaatar and Head of Mongolia Unit at the EBRD Irina Kravchenko on April 9.

Promoting eco-friendly tourism in Mongolia www.egis-group.com

Between 2017 and 2018, Egis was involved in supporting the design of a project to assist the Mongolian government in developing eco-friendly tourism in the country’s protected natural reserves, which will account for 30% of the Mongolian territory by 2030. The aim is to preserve natural spaces, to promote local culture and to support a fair and equitable economy.

In partnership with Horwath HTL, Egis was appointed to help design a proposed project to both protect and develop two national parks in Mongolia: Khuvsgul Lake National Park (KLNP) and Onon-Balj National Park (OBNP).

The project was designed to be compliant with the principles of sustainable tourism defined by United Nations world tourism organisation; aims to preserve biodiversity; and introduce the first eco-certification program in the country. It is hoped that the designs will be used to help promote and develop green tourism in other national parks in Mongolia.

Projects that preserve nature and make it accessible
Lake Khuvsgul is the largest freshwater lake in the country (70% of Mongolia’s freshwater reserves, measuring 130 km in length and 36 km in width). Lake’s pollution caused by dust and waste (being solid or liquid) would be reduced by surfacing roads, by protecting the lake’s banks through better management of traffic along the 40 km of its most visited shores, by creating landfills and by building wastewater treatment plants and eco-toilets. As an example, on the two parcs, three new landfills are proposed to be created to deal with the waste of 15,000 residents and 100,000 tourists. They would be the first rural landfills in the country compliant with international standards. As such, the project would help to reduce public health risks, for both the local communities and visitors.

Biodiversity is proposed to be preserved by the revision of existing parks management plans, by public awareness and by capacity building actions.

To minimize the impact on existing power demand in KLNP park, the new building for staff and visitor centre is designed to be energy self-sufficient thanks to rooftop solar panels and energy savings through an efficient layout allowing to heat only the offices in winter.

Modelling the impact of climate change
Egis conducted an analysis of the potential impact of climate change on the bioclimatic conditions and the ecosystems on KLNP project.

For example, Egis prepared plant cover and habitat maps for the national park, determined the impact of climate change on the park and established various climate change scenarios.

To do this, Egis made substantial use of geospatial modelling, not only to quantify and map the impact on the different types of vegetation, but also to identify the new zones towards which certain ecosystems might migrate following climate change.

Preserving permafrost and fighting global warming
Permafrost is a geological term which describes ground which temperature remains below 0°C for more than two years in a row. Lake Khuvsgul is the only lake in the world that is entirely surrounded by permafrost. This frozen layer plays an important ecological role in regulating ground temperature, germination and resistance to drought and fire. Because of global warming, the permafrost is starting to melt, threatening to release large quantities of greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide, methane) into the atmosphere, which themselves cause temperatures increase. In short, a vicious circle.

To fight this phenomenon, Egis proposed several solutions including elevating structures, deploying insulating materials, and laying innovative road surface structures based on geocells compatible with low traffic density roads. Geocells are geotextiles with alveolar structures (75 to 200 mm high) used as a soil reinforcement product. This solution, which is a first of a kind in Mongolia, reduces the environmental impact of the project by confining and reusing the materials of the site. This structure has the advantage of withstanding the extreme climatic conditions prevalent in Mongolia (temperatures which can vary between -50°C and +50°C).

Highlighting local culture and creating jobs
The Mongolian tourist sector currently suffers from low service standards, lack of infrastructure and a very short tourist season due to long and harsh winters. Developing tourism is however one of the Mongolian government’s strategic priorities to diversify its economy and create jobs. These eco-tourism projects would stimulate the commercial activities of local producers and service providers and contribute to reduce the level of poverty of these regions which is currently particularly high.

Onon Balj is considered to be the birthplace of Genghis Khaan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. A brand-new architectural and tourist complex is planned to be built in his memory. Taking the form of a huge bust emerging from the ground (35 m high), the future 4000 m² building is proposed to house a unique visitor trail, punctuated with gers (traditional Mongolian yurts) recounting the life of the famous Emperor and describing the way the Mongolian people used to live in the 12th century.

With the construction of this iconic building, the forecast number of visitors in OBNP is planned to be multiplied by 20 in 10 years (rising from 27,000 visitors in 2018 to 440,000 in 2029). As a result, the number of residents of these parks making their living from tourism would triple, and 8,200 residents would receive training. This would thus help to contribute to the diversification of revenue streams, reduce unemployment and dependence on social aid, and include in this approach the vulnerable members of the local community. The various measures implemented would also help to prolong the tourist season, which currently only lasts three months.

High coal price to provide favorable conditions for ETT investors www.zgm.mn

Coal firms are still in demand. The performance of the new Mongolian Mining Corporation (MMC)’s USD 440 million bond shows it. The bond has a 9.25 percent interest rate and received a total of USD 740 million bids for subscriptions. From the same example and with the current high price of coal, investors are showing interest in purchasing Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi (ETT)'s shares.

Erdenet enterprise finalizes its debt www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ ‘Erdenet’ state-owned enterprise has fulfilled a claim of ‘Standard’ Bank of South Africa and a decision of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA); thus it has completely resolved its debt issue, reported U.Enkhtuvshin, Deputy Prime Minister, and Kh.Badamsuren, Director-General of ‘Erdenet’ state-owned enterprise, on April 5.

‘National Gold to the Fund of Treasures’ campaign launches www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ A six-month campaign titled ‘National Gold to the Fund of Treasures’ launched on April 8 at the Bank of Mongolia (BoM).

Facebook to use AI to respect the dead www.bbc.com

Facebook has said it is working on using artificial intelligence to prevent a common and upsetting problem: receiving notifications about deceased friends and loved ones.

Mongolia’s foreign exchange reserves reach $3.7bn www.daily-sun.com

Mongolia's foreign exchange reserves rose to 3.7 billion U.S. dollars by the end of March, the country's central bank said Tuesday in a statement carried by its website.

Mongolia's foreign trade up 17 pct in Q1 www.xinhuanet.com

ULAN BATOR, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Foreign trade turnover in Mongolia rose to 17 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, the Mongolian Customs General Administration (MCGA) said Tuesday.

Mongolia mining minister rules out Oyu Tolgoi deal changes www.ft.com

Mongolia’s minister of mining and heavy industry has appeared to rule out making changes to the investment agreements that underpin the development of the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper project.

Dolgorsürengiin Sumyaabazar told the country’s leading TV channel MNB that the $5.3bn underground expansion of the mine should be based on the existing contracts between the government and Anglo Australian miner Rio Tinto.

“As the minister of this sector I see that further investment in the mining sector directly depends on this project,” according to a translation of the TV transcript. “Various people with various backgrounds express their own opinions related to Oyu Tolgoi agreements. But we won’t terminate the Oyu Tolgoi agreement.”

His comments come after a parliamentary working group delivered a report on Oyu Tolgoi to the country’s National Security Council that recommended scrapping one of the agreements and amending another.

The deals in question set the initial ground rules for the development of the project in the Gobi desert and the underground expansion, which is running behind schedule.

“For our country whose fragile economy is based on the mining, we need to improve, sit behind the table and negotiate, make proper steps to support each other to successfully carry this large project,” said Mr Sumyaabazar.

He added that the expansion of Oyu Tologi needed to be seen in a wider context, citing Mongolia’s plans to float its Tavan Tolgoi coal project on a foreign stock exchange.

“During this delicate time along with current issues, we need to properly think and deliver the decision on Tavan Tolgoi project and Oyu Tolgoi project,” he said.

Arnaud Soirat, the head of Rio’s copper and diamonds business, welcomed the decision by the ministry of mining. Separately, he also provided some more details on the delays to the underground expansion at Oyu Tolgoi.

“In a $5.3bn construction project you can expect some challenges, and difficult ground conditions have slowed progress in some areas of the underground development,” he told delegates at a major copper conference in Chile.

“We’re adjusting our mine design as we progress — integrating new geotechnical data than was available during surface drilling. This data reveals there are areas where the strength of the rock is more variable than anticipated in the feasibility study requiring potentially significant design changes.”

“We welcome the Mongolian Government’s recognition of the importance of these agreements, with the Minister of Mining highlighting in comments overnight that they not only underpin the OT project but the strong economic future mining can deliver for the country.”

Rio is expected to provide an update on the underground expansion, detailing the length and cost of the overrun, when it reports interim results in August.

Oyu Tolgoi is one of Rio’s most important growth assets. It controls the mine through a majority stake in a Canadian-listed company called Turquoise Hill.

Australian Chamber of Commerce Mongolia (AustCham Mongolia), in cooperation with the world’s largest director institute, the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) executive level Program www.austchammongolia.com

Australian Chamber of Commerce Mongolia is proud to announce an internationally recognized executive program – “International Foundations of Directorship” – to be held in Mongolia in cooperation with the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).