(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. The Asian
Development bank (ADB) has already started preparing the new
Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Azerbaijan for 2024-2028,
Candice McDeigan, ADB Country Director in Azerbaijan, told trend .
"The current CPS will come to an end this year. The upcoming CPS
will be aligned with ADB's Strategy 2030 and Azerbaijan 2030:
National Priorities of the Social Economic Development," she
said.
McDeigan pointed out that transport sector remains one of the
leading fields for ADB-financing in Azerbaijan. As of today, ADB
has provided almost $5.5 billion in total for Azerbaijan's
transport sector development, which is about 27 percent of the
total bank's financing in the country.
"We recently completed 2 road projects under the $500 million
second road network development investment program. Under the
program, a 60-kilometers long segment of the new Alat-Astara
highway was constructed, 70-kilometer long R32 Ujar–Zardab–Agjabedi
road and 55-kilometer segment of M5 road from Yevlakh to Sheki were
overhauled, and also - 10 local roads with a combined length of 62
kilometers were overhauled," she said.
At present, ADB is financing a railway project named Railway
Sector Development Program with $400 million that comprises a
policy-based loan of $250 million, and a project loan of $150
million.
"This program is improving rail service delivery and the
financial viability of railway operations in Azerbaijan. The
policy-based loan backed Azerbaijani railway sector development
reforms. The project loan is being used to finance the overhaul of
approximately 166-kilometer long Sumgait-Yalama double track rail
line. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024,"
she explained.
The ADB has also approved a small-scale knowledge support
technical assistance amounting to $225,000 in November 2022 to
assist Azerbaijan Railways Company (ADY) in developing a rail
transit operational plan, and to determine the optimal number of
locomotive depots, their functionality, and geographical location
to increase ADY's operational performance. The implementation of
this project is scheduled for the current year.
"In line with the Government's priorities, we are ready to
provide further assistance to increase the transit capacity of
major transport corridors, which could boost regional cooperation
and sustainable trade beyond Caucasus," she said.
Further speaking, the country director noted that ADB continues
to support Azerbaijan's private sector through various
initiatives.
"In 2022, ADB partnered with the Ministry of Economy to launch a
technical assistance project with a $1.2 million grant to support
the Government's Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agenda and
increase private sector involvement in infrastructure projects,"
she said, adding that this technical assistance has built the
capacity of concerned government agencies and helped develop
legislative enactments.
Meanwhile, in the financial sector, the ADB continued to support
the development of the Microfinance Strategy and Financial
Inclusion Framework in the country.
"We also partnered with the Central Bank of Azerbaijan to
improve consumer protection principles. Last year, we partnered
with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Debt Management Agency
to enhance debt management capacity and update the Medium- and
Long-Term Debt Management Strategy. We provided policy
recommendations to strengthen fiscal debt management practices
during crises to improve social services, mandatory health
insurance, and healthcare service delivery," McDeigan
explained.
In addition, as ADB country director pointed out, under the
Integrated Fiduciary Risk Assessments and Strengthening Country
Systems technical assistance, the bank supported the State Service
for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control in reviewing the draft
new public procurement laws and provided recommendations for
further improvement.
Moreover, according to McDeigan, ADB's Modernizing Vocational
Education and Training (VET) for Economic Diversification Sector
Development Program in Azerbaijan is scheduled for approval in the
first half of 2023.
In 2022, ADB approved a technical assistance grant of $750,000
to prepare the Modernizing VET for Economic Diversification Sector
Development Program.
"The proposed VET Program aims to support the government's
efforts to diversify Azerbaijan's economy by improving the
responsiveness of vocational education and training to the
country's labor market and the 4th Industrial Revolution," she
said.
As the country director explained, the program comprises a
policy-based loan of $120 million, and a project loan of $30
million. This will help to improve VET financing ad inclusiveness,
enhance VET quality and relevance, and strengthen the institutional
framework of the VET system.
Among other significant projects in the ADB-Azerbaijan
cooperation, McDeigan mentioned the project of floating solar power
plant with a capacity of 100 kW (95 kW offshore, 5 kW onshore)
implemented by the bank on the Boyukshor lake. According to her,
the project is expected to be completed in April 2023.
"We are currently implementing a pilot project for the
installation of floating solar panels on the Boyukshor lake, that
will generate 100 KW. The ADB will consider upscaling, if this
pilot project promises further opportunities," she added.
McDeigan also noted that ADB has supported a number of
successful projects in Azerbaijan's energy sector, and is committed
to supporting the Government's renewable energy agenda.
"The ADB recently approved a $21.4 million solar power project
which is the first significant private sector renewable energy
investment in Azerbaijan's history. Under the project, Masdar
Azerbaijan Energy LLC will set up a 230-megawatt solar power
facility near the Alat settlement in Azerbaijan," she said.
Another project that the country director focused on was the
Irrigation and Drainage System Development Project in Azerbaijan's
Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The bank has provided a $1.2
million technical assistance grant for the preparation.
"The project design is at its final stage and is scheduled for
approval in 2023," she said.
According to McDeigan, the project will support the use of
high-level technology for the rehabilitation and modernization of
five irrigation systems in Nakhchivan.
"It is expected to provide irrigation water to more than 43,000
hectares of farmland in five districts of Nakhchivan Autonomous
Republic (Sadarak, Sharur, Kengerli, Babek, and Julfa), accounting
for about 80 percent of the total irrigated land in the republic,"
she explained.
In conclusion, Candice McDeigan noted that, following the
preparation of a new country strategy for Azerbaijan, ADB's special
focus over the next five years will be on green economic
transformation, regional cooperation and connectivity, domestic
integration, sustainable finance, and private sector
development.
"Transport, energy, and social sectors will remain among the
core sectors for ADB's assistance during that period. We are aiming
for the new CPS to be approved in the first quarter of 2024 and we
will continue to build on the fruitful partnership between ADB and
all our partners in the country," she said.