TODAY.AZ / Business

ADB postpones issuance of funds for North-South project

24 August 2016 [17:00] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Nigar Abbasova

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) postponed consideration of the possibility of allocating a loan worth $200 million for implementation of the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) , as well as Road Network Development Investment Program.

The bank reported earlier that the ADB's mission will be in Azerbaijan from November 14 to November 25 to gather information about the project and  carry out review of the project on December 12, 2016.

The visit of the mission was postponed to March 11-25 2017, while the review is expected to be implemented on April 15, 2017. The funds are expected to be mainly spent for the development of Baku-Yalama (border with Russia) rail line, which is implemented within the framework of the North-South project.

The project which have five outputs also include enhanced management autonomy of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY) and transport sector governance, effective financial restructuring of ADY’s liabilities, enhanced financial and management control, efficiency and reporting at ADY, business development and corporate restructuring of ADY.The policy-based loan will support outputs 1-4, while the project loan will support output 5 (Baku-Yalama rail line).

Allocation of funds for the realization of the North-South project is envisaged within the ADB’s railway sector development program. Azerbaijan Railways CJSC is the executing agency for obtaining the loan.

The North-South transportation corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe to South-East Asia and has a strategic importance for the region. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia.

At the initial stage, the North-South corridor will transport 5 million tons of cargo per year with further expansion of transportation to over 10 million tons. Along with making a great contribution to the diversification of Azerbaijan's economy the project is expected to turn the country into a major transport hub.

The project, which is considered to be a strategically important and advantageous in terms of time of transit cargo transportation, is also expected to bring great economic benefits.  The route, part of which will pass along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, from Russia to Iran through Azerbaijan enjoys several advantages compared to other transport such as Suez Canal-the Mediterranean Sea-Northern Europe and the Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan-Russia-Northern Europe routes.

 Azerbaijan, which became a member of ADB on December 22, 1999, has a 0.5 percent share in the bank’s capital.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/business/153633.html

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