(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 9. European bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is eager to work with new
eligible cities in the Karabakh region, and to welcome them into
EBRD Green Cities program, Kamola Makhmudova, EBRD Country Head for
Azerbaijan, told Trend in an exclusive interview.
“According to the initial reports shared by the Ministry of
Energy, the Karabakh region has a huge renewable energy potential –
around 3,000-4,000 MW of solar energy and 300-500 MW of wind
energy. This is encouraging for the renewable energy sector in the
country,” she said.
As the official explained, cities under the program need to
commit to improving their environmental performance and promoting
the transition to green, low-carbon and resilient futures.
“The key criterion for the cities is to commit to the
development and implementation of a Green City Action Plan (GCAP)
and launch a trigger investment project with the EBRD. In addition,
eligible cities need to have a population of at least 50,000
residents. If there was a relevant request, we could look at
potential opportunities on a project-by-project basis,” Makhmudova
added.
According to the country head, Ganja became the first city in
Azerbaijan to join EBRD Green Cities in March 2020. The first-ever
project was signed in May 2022 and concerned the solid waste
sector. The EBRD works with the Ganja city Executive Power, the
Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan and other government
organizations to develop pilot projects.
The EBRD has already allocated 10 million euros to improve the
solid waste collection services in Ganja city with modern and
energy-efficient vehicles, specialized containers and bins, digital
collection systems and other improvement works.
Currently, the EBRD plans to sign a new street lighting project
within the EBRD Green Cities program in Azerbaijan's Ganja city in
the upcoming months.
“As immediate next steps, we hope to sign the Ganja street
lighting project and start project preparation works for the
development of a modern, EU-compliant landfill near Ganja city,”
she said.
For the street lighting project, in addition to the EBRD loan,
the Bank has secured a 2.5 million euros investment grant from E5P
Fund, supported by the EU and other international donors, the
official noted.
In parallel, the EBRD is launching the preparation of the Green
City Action Plan for Ganja city - a comprehensive, integrated and
multi-disciplinary strategic plan to develop Ganja's long-term
vision for infrastructure assets development. This assignment
starts this month, she said.
“We are very excited to welcome beautiful Ganja to the EBRD
Green Cities program. This is the Bank's prominent urban
development project that supports cities to overcome their
environmental challenges with sustainable infrastructure
investments, policy initiatives and capacity building. It helps
cities to build a better and more sustainable future for their
residents by systematically assessing the cities' infrastructure
needs and developing measures to tackle them. Our program has
proved that not only it improves lives for citizens, but also
reduces healthcare and policing costs,” Makhmudova added.
As Makhmudova noted, the EBRD hopes to start working with new
Green Cities in Azerbaijan in the nearest future.
EBRD Green Cities offers more than 5 billion euros of EBRD and
donor support to cities. Through the program, the Bank can work
with public and private sector clients to invest in a wide range of
sustainable urban infrastructure measures including: district
energy, green buildings and building retrofits, renewable energy,
distribution system, urban transport, street lighting, urban
climate resilience, water and wastewater, solid waste, smart
solutions and nature-based solutions, she added.
“As we know, behind every successful project, there is a
talented team. We noted the high level of professionalism and
competence both at Ministry and at the City levels. We are in touch
with the Government to support infrastructure investments in
transport, utility, energy, telecommunications and other sectors,
and to participate in the ongoing transformation work in
state-owned companies, which we fully support. Our key focus,
however, is on working with private companies to support their
competitiveness, good governance and green economy transition, as
set out in the EBRD's Azerbaijan Country Strategy for 2019-2024,”
she added.
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