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WB to issue $140M for highway project in Azerbaijan

10 February 2016 17:51 (UTC+04:00)
WB to issue $140M for highway project in Azerbaijan

The World Bank will make a decision on allocation of additional funding worth $140 million for Azerbaijan to expand the Baku-Shamakhi highway until late June 2016.

The Baku office of the Bank told Trend that the Azerbaijani government has made a formal request for getting the additional funding to expand the highway up to four lanes,.

The formal negotiations on the loan are expected to be held in March. The decision will be taken by the end of the current fiscal year [WB’s fiscal year will end June 30].

The Baku-Shamakhi highway is being reconstructed as part of the third main road reconstruction project.

The third road project worth $356.15 million was approved in 2010. This project includes two areas. The first area concerns the reconstruction of the main road network of Azerbaijan and transit corridors, the second area - local roads being reconstructed as part of a regional development strategy. The Baku-Shamakhi-Muganli highway reconstruction project envisages its expansion from two to four lanes. The project will be implemented in September 2016.

As of February 1, 2016, the World Bank allocated $241.6 million for the project.

Meanwhile, WB Baku office head Larisa Leshchenko said the level of disbursement of the WB funds in Azerbaijan is 17 percent.

Talking to reporters on February 10, she said it is one of the highest figures in the European and Central Asian regions.

She estimated the level of disbursement of WB’s funds in Azerbaijan as good, though, according to Leshchenko, there are some minor delays.

Azerbaijan has been a WB member since 1992. As of February 1, 2016, the Bank issued loans amounting to $3.785 billion to Azerbaijan. The funds were used to finance over 60 projects. By early 2016, Azerbaijan has used $2.764 billion or 73 percent of all loans drawn via WB. Besides the loans, WB delivered 45 grants totaling $41.586 million to Azerbaijan in 1995-2014.

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