Major construction projects transform the lives of thousands of Mongolians – whether they’re creating new plants, enabling better transport, or providing power to the surrounding area. Aside from creating thousands of jobs during the construction phase, they’ll bring in opportunities for the local economy that will continue to provide benefits for years to come.

Despite significant challenges facing Mongolia’s economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still several megaprojects either being built or being planned.

From Mongolia’s first ever oil refinery to hydro power plant to reconstruction of busiest road connecting capital city with the third largest municipality of Darkhan, we’re taking a look at the four biggest construction projects that will be carried by Mongolian Government. The mega projects—those that cost MNT 733.7 billion in 2020 State Budget.

MNT 150 billion for the Mongolia’s first ever oil refinery

To reduce its dependence on imports, the Government of Mongolia has commenced construction of the country’s own refinery, supported by a USD 1.24 billion soft credit line from India. The refinery with an initial capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum is being built in Dornogobi province.

According to officials, construction of the refinery will be completed in 2025. Currently, 13 American companies and eight Indian companies are participating in the construction which is running 30 percent of completion.

MNT 115.4 billion for the Erdeneburen hydropower plant

The 90-megawatt hydropower plant is considered crucial to ensuring long-term energy supplies to western Mongolia and laying the foundation for the development of renewable energy in the region. The Erdeneburen hydropower plant on Khovd River will be constructed in the coming five years, with USD 228.5 million soft loan from the Chinese government.

MNT 117 billion for 204 km road connecting Ulaanbaatar and Darkhan cities

204-km four-lane auto road connecting Ulaanbaatar and Darkhan cities are under construction. The cost of the renovation is largely being covered by the Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); a total of USD 83.8 million in loans has been allocated by the government for the renovation of what has been dubbed the “deadliest road in Mongolia”.

Built in 1970-1980, the 244 km Ulaanbaatar – Darkhan highway passes through major industrial towns, agricultural regions and tourist camps. The road is of strategic importance, because it is part of the north-south corridor, linking the capital with Russia. Darkhan is the country’s third-largest city.

MNT 92 billion for thermal power stations in 10 provinces

Mongolia has started constructions of thermal power stations in 10 provinces with Chinese soft loan of USD 148.7 million. Thermal power stations are crucial for Mongolia, the one of coldest countries in the world.

Mongolia has its own oil fields producing enough crude for its requirements. However, almost all of its crude oil is exported and all of its finished petrochemical products are imported. Mongolia imports more than 90% of the oil products from Russia and the remainder from countries such as China, Republic of Korea. To reduce its dependence on imports, the Government of Mongolia has commenced construction of the country’s own refinery, supported by a USD 1.24 billion soft credit line from India. The refinery with an initial capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum is being built in Dornogobi province.

According to officials, construction of the refinery will be completed in 2025. Currently, 13 American companies and eight Indian companies are participating in the construction.

Based on survey conducted between 2016 and 2019, approximately 60 percent of the refinery’s production of petroleum products will be diesel. For other fuels, the refinery will refine only gasoline AI-95.

Once ready, the refinery will produce 1.5 million metric tons per annum, with diesel and gasoline as the primary products and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), fuel oil and jet fuel being produced as secondary products.

According to the Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index 2021, Mongolia is ranked 90th out of 110 countries in the world.

The DQL survey, which covers 90 percent of the world's population, is conducted by cybersecurity firm Surfshark and assesses countries based on the five main pillars of digital well-being – internet affordability and quality, e-infrastructure, e-security, and e-government.

Mongolia shows its highest rank in internet affordability (39th), surpassing economically affluent countries like Belgium, Italy, and Norway, but displays comparatively low results in Internet quality (107th), electronic infrastructure (82nd), electronic security (89th) and e-government (87th).

Moreover, the country is ranked 26th out of 32 Asian countries in the index, and lags behind in 4 out of 5 pillars of DQL. The country lacks the quality of the Internet, as it is about 40 percent lower than the global average. The country is at 107th in the world in the quality of the Internet. In terms of the stability of the mobile Internet, it ranks last in the index (110th).

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been put on spotlight at the first-ever High-level National Forum on the SDGs on 4th October 2021 as Mongolia’s key stakeholders in development, including the Parliamentarians, the Cabinet ministers, Diplomatic Missions, representatives from the civil society, development partners and the academia, and most importantly from the private sector, discussed the importance of integration of the SDGs in the national policies and programs and their implementation in Mongolia.

In his opening remarks, H.E Speaker of the Parliament G. Zandanshatar highlighted the importance of multilateral cooperation for the intensification of the SDGs in Mongolia while announcing that a Multistakeholder Council for Sustainable Development (MCSD) will be set up at the Parliament of Mongolia to ensure coordination and whole of society approach for SDGs implementation in Mongolia.

H.E. L.Oyun-Erdene, Prime Minister of Mongolia emphasized some of the key measures by the Government for the socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic within a short period of time. He underscored the Government’s recent commitment to the Government budget for 2022 that included some reforms towards sustainable financing. For instance, the Government aims to support stronger middle-income group of population as a way to eradicate poverty and end hunger nationwide. Therefore, the development policies will be shifted from social welfare to the creation of employment opportunities for the people.

The UN Resident Coordinator Tapan Mishra thanked Mongolia’s Government for their decisive actions and commitment to the SDGs in the midst of the fight against the devastating pandemic. “I am particularly pleased that the National Committee for Sustainable Development has recently adopted the national SDG targets and indicators and look forward towards the Parliament’s support in reviewing and adopting them during the upcoming sessions. Anchoring the nationalized SDG targets and indicators in the national development policies and programmes, supported by adequate financial resources and monitoring mechanism, is crucial for achieving the 2030 Agenda,” said Tapan Mishra.

The keynote speech of the forum was delivered by UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Chief Economist, UN-DESA Mr. Elliott Harris, who accentuated the effective recovery from the extreme impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that has exacerbated the various forms of vulnerabilities and interdependence the world faces today.

“Governments can now formulate more ambitious policies aimed at reducing vulnerabilities an integral objective of the recovery plans,” said Mr. Harris. He further noted that the pandemic has underscored the importance of social protection, the need to buttress public health systems; and the accelerating digitalization of the economy. “It has shown that we need to put greater emphasis on improving the quality of investments in education, health, basic infrastructure and information and communications technologies, within the existing resources,” he added.

Among the esteemed panelists were the Deputy Speaker of Parliament S.Odontuya, MP J.Ganbaatar and M. Oyunchimeg, who gave a broader overview on the legal frameworks on localizing SDGs in Mongolia and adoption of nationalized targets and indicators by the Parliament.

At the second panel discussion of the forum, the role of the private sector was highly emphasized, as noted the Member of Parliament J. Ganbaatar noted that the private sector that has good governance will be the driving forces for the acceleration of the agenda for sustainable development.

Acknowledging the fact that achieving the SDGs is everyone’s business, the UN Mongolia welcomed the Parliament’s leadership the acceleration of the SDGs through this important multi-stakeholder mechanism. It implies a new set of partnerships involving parliamentarians, national and local governments working with the private sector, academia, civil society and development partners, as emphasized by the Resident Coordinator.

At her closing remarks of the forum, Ms Kh.Bulgantuya, Member of Parliament and the Chair of the Sub-Committee on the SDGs announced the launch of the Multistakeholder Council for Sustainable Development (MCSD) to be an effective regulatory mechanism, which will serve as a platform for cohesive and coherent policy-making and implementation for achieving the 2030 Agenda and Vision 2050.

Source:UN Mongolia

The United States is sending nearly 900,000 doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to Mongolia. They are scheduled to arrive Wednesday, a White House official told VOA.

“Scientific teams and legal and regulatory authorities from both countries have worked together to ensure the prompt delivery of safe and effective vaccine lots to Mongolia,” the official said.

The 899,730 doses, sent through COVAX, the global vaccine-sharing initiative co-led by Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), the WHO (World Health Organization) and CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations), are in addition to 188,370 doses of the Pfizer vaccine shipped to Mongolia in September. The U.S. has also provided more than $4 million to support the country’s pandemic response.

A low-income country bordered by vaccine-producing neighbors, China and Russia, Mongolia has been able to secure millions of vaccine doses largely through deals with Moscow and Beijing. It has administered at least 4,383,409 doses of COVID vaccines so far, according to its Ministry of Health. That’s enough for about 68% of the country’s population, assuming each person receives two doses.

The number of infections is decreasing, with 2,230 new cases reported on average each day. That is 60% of the peak reported on September 6.

There have been 312,376 infections and 1,347 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country since the pandemic began. COVID-19 is caused by the coronavirus.

Vaccine inequality

Humanitarian organizations say wealthy nations still need to do more to address global vaccine inequality.

“When it comes to vaccine access around the world, you have 80% of the doses that have been administered have gone to rich countries, while only 0.5% have gone to low-income countries,” said Robbie Silverman, Oxfam America's senior advocacy manager.

The U.S. has been criticized for announcing plans to provide booster shots for certain demographic groups while many at-risk populations around the world have yet to receive a single shot.

The Biden administration says they can help vaccinate the world at the same time as they protect Americans.

“As the president has said, America will be the arsenal of vaccines in our fight against COVID-19,” the White House official told VOA Tuesday.

At the virtual COVID-19 summit on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in September, U.S. President Joe Biden announced an additional donation of 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to low-income and lower-middle-income countries, bringing total U.S. pledged donations to 1.1 billion shots.

The U.S. is the global leader in both pledged and shipped doses, according to data compiled by the Duke Global Health Innovation Center.

As of October 1, however, the U.S. had shipped only 15% of the 1.1 billion doses it has promised. It is lagging behind other areas with less ambitious donation goals, including China (46%), Japan (30%) and the European Union (25%).

Some information from this report comes from Reuters.

Erdenet, Orkhon province — As Bayarmaa Badarch sits in the hospital waiting room, she has more on her mind than just her ultrasound appointment. She usually receives free, regular checkups at her local family health center. But the ultrasound equipment at her family practice is broken. And because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, her doctor hasn’t been able to have it fixed or replaced.

This has forced Bayarmaa, who is six months pregnant, to turn to a private hospital, where she doesn’t know the doctor and treatment comes at a high cost. For her ultrasound, Bayarmaa will need to pay 45,000 Mongolian togrogs (about $16). The average monthly income in Mongolia is about 1,343,428 togrogs ($510), according to 2019 data from the national statistics office.

It’s a frustrating situation, but Bayarmaa says she has no choice. “There is no other option than this to give birth to a healthy baby,” she says.

Family health centers form the bedrock of Mongolia’s health care system, providing medical care for 70% of the population. About 2.4 million people rely on the centers for their primary health care, and Mongolians pay monthly health insurance contributions that entitle them to free treatment.

But because of the pandemic, family health centers are strained beyond capacity. “We are dedicating the majority of our annual budget to fighting against the coronavirus,” says Oyungerel Sanduijav, a doctor who works at a family health center in Erdenet, the capital of Orkhon province in northern Mongolia. As a result, she says, they haven’t been able to repair or replace broken equipment, or perform certain examinations and diagnostic tests.

Her center has run through its entire annual reserve of medicine to treat anxiety, hypertension and heart pain in just three months, she says, because patients have experienced high levels of those conditions when getting tested or vaccinated.

Nasanbuyan Demberelkhuu’s documents show he has paid his health insurance premiums for the past two decades, but he says he has been unable to obtain the medical care he needs.

The problem is national, says Khajidmaa Shagdarkhuu, executive director of the Mongolian Association of Family Medicine Specialists.

“Family health centers are working at full capacity, but some services are failing due to a lack of budget,” Khajidmaa says. “This is an issue that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.”

Patients have also become frustrated at their inability to access routine care. “It seems like there is no other disease except for coronavirus,” says Altantsetseg Batnasan, a resident of Orkhon province.

Nasanbuyan Demberelkhuu, who also lives in Orkhon province, says he has been unable to obtain a simple urine test to check the health of his kidneys. “I live without being able to enjoy my right to get medical services, even though I paid my health insurance fees monthly,” he says.

And Ulam-Orgikh Tserendorj, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy two years ago, says he requires physical therapy every two weeks to combat his constant headaches. But he hasn’t been able to get an appointment for the past seven months.

“When I go to the family hospital, they say that therapy would not be done because the apparatus is broken,” Ulam-Orgikh says. “They said that they would call me once the therapy is available. I do not know how long I have to wait.”

Oyungerel says the government’s focus on the coronavirus pandemic has come at the expense of patients and staff. “If they solve everything at the same time, it will be easier for us medical employees to carry out our duties,” she says.

Government officials acknowledge the challenges that medical providers face and say they are working to address the issues, but decline to offer specifics.

“We met with family health centers and got acquainted with the situation,” says Batsukh Buyantogtokh, head of the Health Care Policy and Implementation Coordination Department at the Ministry of Health. “We are working to solve the problems. It is not an easy problem to solve. It will take time to fully resolve.”

In the meantime, Khajidmaa, of the Mongolian Association of Family Medicine Specialists, says doctors and nurses will keep pushing the government to provide funding for treatment and equipment, as well as to increase pay for health care workers at family health centers.

“We will fight,” she says, “until we get these issues solved completely.”

BY: Khorloo Khukhnokhoi is a Global Press Journal reporter based in Mongolia. Born and raised in Uvs province, she was a television journalist prior to joining Global Press Journal.

The new terminal for container transportation at Gashuunsukhait border checkpoint is currently undergoing the inspection of the State Commission. The terminal’s construction was financed by Energy Resource LLC, Erdenes Tavantolgoi JSC, and Tavantolgoi JSC.

A joint financing agreement for the construction of buildings and roads at the terminal has been established between the sides. Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry G.Yondon, Erdenes Tavantolgoi CEO B.Gankhuyag, Tavantolgoi CEO J.Dorjsuren, and Energy Resource CEO G.Battsengel signed the agreement.

With this, the companies will be in charge of the costs for the construction of the terminal buildings and roads as well as the activities to be carried out in the project framework.

Using containers to transport coal through the Gashuunsukhait border checkpoint, it increases the capacity of export and prevents the quality of coal from degrading, alongside reducing the environmental impact. A study has also found that the annual coal export is estimated to increase by 8-10 million tons as a result, reported the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry.

The major trade pact known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership was once seen as a counterweight to China's regional influence. But now, the world's second-biggest economy wants in too. The move is being seen as a way of blocking Taiwan's entry, while simultaneously countering Washington's increasing attempts to keep Beijing in check.

The CPTPP comprises 11 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The United States withdrew in 2017, and remains reluctant to rejoin.

Move poses questions for Biden

China's main incentive as a prospective new member is to counter Washington. US President Joe Biden recently hosted the so-called Quad summit with Australia, India and Japan. Although the four leaders did not mention China by name, it's clear the meeting was held in part to stifle Beijing's influence.

China's attempt to join the pact poses a dilemma for Biden. He will need to quickly decide whether to rejoin, or sit back and let the current members determine whether to allow China onboard. And he does not appear to have much room for error when it comes to foreign policy. Biden's approval rating has plunged following his decision to stick with the US military's full withdrawal from Afghanistan. The ensuing chaos shocked the world.

Beijing turns to Asia

Beijing's souring relationship with Europe is another incentive for it to join the CPTPP. The European Parliament has decided to freeze a massive investment deal with China amid tensions over human right issues. The situation, coupled with China's apparent economic slowdown amid the global pandemic, has seen Beijing turn to Asia instead.

And last but not least is Beijing's intent to block Taiwan from joining the CPTPP. China's increasing military activity in the South China Sea has prompted other countries to strengthen economic ties with Taiwan. Washington's decision to reopen talks with Taiwan on establishing a trade and investment framework is one example.

High hurdles to join

The chances of China actually joining the pact appear to be extremely slim. The country's protectionist policies raise doubts about whether it can meet CPTPP standards. Another barrier will be gaining consensus among the existing members. Australia could reject the idea amid increasing bilateral tensions. And Mexico, under pressure from Chinese manufacturing imports, might do the same. Japan, meanwhile, is more than discontent with the Chinese military's assertiveness in the South China Sea.

Yet at the same time, China is a bigger trading partner to most CPTPP members than the United States. Canada and Mexico are the only exceptions. And despite the slim odds of joining, China appears willing to use its political powers to pressure some members into watering down the admission requirements.

With or without China, the CPTPP looks certain to grow in future. Britain has started negotiations to join, while Thailand is also keen.

The effectiveness of the Pfizer Inc (PFE.N)/BioNTech SE vaccine in preventing infection by the coronavirus dropped to 47% from 88% six months after the second dose, according to data published on Monday that U.S. health agencies considered when deciding on the need for booster shots.

The data, which was published in the Lancet medical journal, had been previously released in August ahead of peer review.

The analysis showed that the vaccine's effectiveness in preventing hospitalization and death remained high at 90% for at least six months, even against the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The data suggests that the drop is due to waning efficacy, rather than more contagious variants, researchers said.

Researchers from Pfizer and Kaiser Permanente studied electronic health records of roughly 3.4 million people who were members of Kaiser Permanente Southern California between December 2020 - when the vaccine first became available - and August of 2021.

"Our variant-specific analysis clearly shows that the (Pfizer/BioNTech) vaccine is effective against all current variants of concern, including Delta," said Luis Jodar, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Pfizer vaccines.

A potential limitation of the study was a lack of data on adherence to masking guidelines and occupations in the study population, which could have affected frequency of testing and likelihood of exposure to the virus.

Vaccine effectiveness against the Delta variant was 93% after the first month, declining to 53% after four months. Against other coronavirus variants, efficacy declined to 67% from 97%.

"To us, that suggests Delta is not an escape variant that is completely evading vaccine protection," said study leader Sara Tartof with Kaiser Permanente Southern California's Department of Research & Evaluation.

"If it was, we would probably not have seen high protection after vaccination, because vaccination would not be working in that case. It would start low, and stay low."

Testing for variants is more likely to fail in vaccinated individuals, which could lead to overestimation of variant-specific effectiveness in the study, the authors cautioned.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of a booster dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for older adults and some Americans at high-risk of getting infected. Scientists have called for more data on whether boosters should be recommended for all.

Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot

China’s metallurgical coal supply was expected to remain tight over the near term, even as the number of Mongolian trucks hauling coal into the country rose to 500 per day in the week ended Sept. 30, up from a more than one-year low of 100 trucks per day in the week to Sept. 17, sources said Oct. 1.

Mongolian truck traffic into China hit a record of 2,233 trucks per day in August 2020, according to sources.

China is facing a severe shortage of metallurgical coal amid a historic rally in coking coal prices caused by a disruption in trade flows due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s unofficial ban on Australian coal since 2020.

Coking coal surpassed iron ore to become the most expensive input for steelmakers in September, Platts reported earlier.

The market was concerned if the volumes from Mongolia would keep up the momentum in the coming weeks, Beijing-based Founder CIFCO Futures said. Mongolia’s truck traffic had slowed due to recurring COVID-19 cases in the region, according to sources. China imports coal from Mongolia through the largest land border port Ganqimaodu in Inner Mongolia.

China’s stricter coronavirus-related checks at its borders and a bleak chance of Australian coal imports resuming in the near term were expected to keep the country’s metallurgical coal supply tight and prices elevated, according to Founder CIFCO.

Prices of domestic coking coal surged 68.4% from early August to Yuan 4,235/mt ($655.90/mt) Sept. 29 for premium hard coking coal in the Shanxi province, S&P Global Platts data showed.

Meanwhile, the Platts iron ore benchmark IODEX 62% Fe dipped to a more than one-year low of $94/dry mt Sept. 20, down 48.7% from early August, and lower by about 60% from an all-time high of $233.1/dmt in May, according to Platts data.

Demand remains bleak

China’s policy to curb energy consumption and carbon emissions have led to widespread steel output cuts, pressuring domestic metallurgical coal demand during the first two months of the fourth quarter, according to Fuzhou-based Changjiang Futures.

The country’s major coal hub Shanxi province has capped downstream coking output due to the curbs on energy consumption and slowed buying from the downstream sector because of higher metallurgical coal prices, sources said.

High metallurgical coal prices amid poor demand weakened the sentiment in the domestic metallurgical coal auction market, with some auctions being called off, Shenzhen-based Chaos Ternary Futures said.

China’s growing environmental controls on mines could also weigh on the domestic coal demand in the short term, Chinese industry analysts said.