World Bank approved $200 million credit for rehabilitation of Alat-Astara and Baku-Shamakhi roads

The project will help reduce road transport costs and improve access, transit and road safety within Azerbaijan's East-West and North-South corridors, through upgrading of some sections of the Alat-Astara highway and rehabilitating the Baku-Shamakhi road, which provides the shortest access route to important farming areas in the west of Baku, APA reports.

The representatives of the Office consider that located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia and North and South, Azerbaijan has a unique opportunity to serve as a transit hub for flows of energy and goods in the region. "To use this opportunity, the country needs to improve its transport infrastructure, which has been heavily hit by transition-associated problems such as lack of investment, maintenance and management. Currently, about 56 percent of roads in the country are in poor condition and need urgent repair".

The Alat-Astara highway, with a length of 230 km, would be widened to four lanes in line with modern standards, mostly along a new alignment which will shorten it by about 30 km and bypass the main cities. The second road (Baku-Shamakhi), which winds through the mountains for 124 km, needs to be repaired, both for the economic re-vitalization of the region and for safety reasons. This project will also offer an opportunity to further modernize the sector, through enhanced design of roads and improved maintenance planning.

The project has two main components. The first component comprises civil works for Alat-Masalli, Baku-Shamakhi and their key access roads, as well as consultancy services. The second component will support provision of technical assistance, training and goods to support strengthening the road maintenance and project implementation capacity of the national road administration. The credit will be paid by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) which is the WB member.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan joined the World Bank in 1992. Since then, commitments to the country total approximately $711 million for 29 operations.