WB payout index in Azerbaijan exceeds Bank averages

By AzerNews

The disbursement ratio within the World Bank's projects in Azerbaijan, which is 19.2 percent, is above the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region (17.3 percent) and Bank (10.8 percent) averages, WB Baku Office reported on Wednesday.

Some 70 percent of World Bank lending to Azerbaijan have been provided for two main areas transport (48 percent) and the water and sanitation sectors (22 percent).

Other sectors that received substantial financing are agriculture and rural development (9 percent), public administration and law, social development, and social protection (5 percent), as well as energy and mining (3 percent).

Currently, the transport sector dominates World Bank financing in Azerbaijan, receiving over 61 percent of investment funds, followed by the water sector (22 percent), agriculture and rural development (5 percent), and public sector governance, social development, social protection, and urban development (8 percent).

"The Bank portfolio currently consists of 17 active projects whose total commitment amount reaches $2.264 million, of which about 60 percent is undisbursed," the bank reported.

Six projects out of 17 are financed on IDA terms and cover almost every sector, while the IBRD portfolio (11 projects) focuses mainly on the infrastructure sectors.

The Bank's portfolio consists of six active trust fund projects in the amount of $9.4 million.

The World Bank will prepare a document on private sector participation in solid waste management within the Analytical and Advisory Services (AAA) in Azerbaijan in 2013, the bank reported on Thursday.

Three AAA products are planned to be delivered in 2013. These are on private sector participation in solid waste management, economic diversification for growth and fostering entrepreneurship in South Caucasus. Preparation of these documents is not envisaged by the current WB strategy on Azerbaijan.

As the bank's Baku Office said, the WB is completing work on the Programmatic Public Expenditure Review (PPER).

Since 1992, during the whole period of cooperation with Azerbaijan, the World Bank has financed 56 projects in various sectors of the economy for a total of $3.4 billion in loans and grants of the International Development Association (IDA), and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). During this period, the World Bank has granted Azerbaijan with $42 million for development of projects and feasibility studies and organization of training.