Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Media representatives have visited the Khachmaz town in northern Azerbaijan as part of an event organized by the Japanese Embassy in Baku on Wednesday in accordance with the Official Development Assistance (ODA) program implemented by Japan's government in Azerbaijan.

Initially, the media representatives familiarized themselves with the construction site of a water reservoir in Khachmaz realized under the Improvement of Water Supply and Sewerage Projects in small towns.

The Japanese government has allocated over $290.7 million as a soft loan for the project.

The main purpose of the project is to improve the water supply and sanitation system in 10 provincial towns. Approximately 700,000 people will benefit from the project.

The spokesman for Azerbaijani national water operator Azersu JSC, Anar Jabrailov, says that at present, water supply and sewerage projects are implemented in 38 cities and regions of Azerbaijan, as well as in more than 350 villages.

These projects are financed from the state budget and on account of the loans allocated as a result of cooperation with international lenders. Azersu JSC cooperates with international institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, German Development Bank, Korea International Cooperation Agency, Japan International Cooperation Agency and Saudi Fund for Development.

Jabrailov said 15 of the 38 projects are financed from the state budget and the other 23 -- through loans allocated by international financial institutions.

He said Azersu JSC operates in Gusar, Khachmaz, Khizi and Naftalan under the Japanese government project.

Under the project implemented in Khachmaz, the construction of a 2 km long line for restoration of water sources and six water reservoirs with the total capacity of 10,000 cubic meters is being carried out.

The first stage of the water source restoration in Khachmaz will be completed in three months.

The second stage of the project envisions reconstruction of the sewerage and water supply network in Khachmaz, laying water and sewerage lines to every household, the installation of water meters, and the construction of a sewerage and waste water treatment facility. Jabrailov said 70 percent of this work has already been completed.

Contractor of the Khachmaz project is Azerkendsutejhiizat joint-stock company. The project will be completed in 2014.

The construction of the water reservoirs is implemented by Azersu JSC and planning and construction control is carried out by Tokyo Engineering Corporation.

Head of the Khachmaz region's executive authority Shamsaddin Khanbabayev said in a meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Azerbaijan Shusuke Watanabe, representatives of Azersu and Tokyo Engineering Corporation that Khachmaz is one of the most important cities in terms of economic cooperation. He said the region has great difficulty with the water supply and sanitation system. But after the implementation of this project these problems will be solved.

Khanbabayev expressed gratitude to the Japanese government for implementing such a project in Khachmaz.

Ambassador Watanabe said the project will support the balanced social and economic development in the country, serving to the improvement of the sanitary conditions and living standards in the main regional towns of Azerbaijan.

Watanabe said the cooperation with the Khachmaz town will continue further and such projects will be implemented in the future.

Furthermore, the media representatives became familiar with a medical station in the Niyazovad village of Khachmaz region within the framework of the Grassroots and Human Security grant assistance program.

The medical station has been rebuilt with the grant assistance of the Japanese government and over $804.4 million allocated for the realization of the project. This medical station serves to the residents of Niyazovad and two neighboring villages. The medical station was put into operation last year, which helped to improve medical services in the area.

Also, the media representatives familiarized themselves with a farm in Shabran region under the "Assistance to low-income farmers and food security project" within the framework of the grant assistance program.

The Japanese government allocated more than $29.5 million for the development of the agriculture sector of Azerbaijan under the 2KR program from 1996 to 2011 to support the state program on the development of the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan.

The Official Development Assistance (ODA) program is implemented by the government of Japan in three categories: bilateral loans, bilateral grants and transactions by international financial institutions.

Diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Japan were established in 1992.