Azerbaijan And China Sign Co-Op Documents UPDATE

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 2. Azerbaijan and China have signed documents on cooperation, Trend reports.

According to the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, at the meeting held in the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan with the participation of Shahin Mustafayev, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Framework Agreement was signed with China's “BYD Company Limited” (BYD) to ensure the local production of buses.

It is noted that the agreement was signed by Elnur Aliyev, the First Deputy Minister of Economy; Rahman Hummatov, the Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport; Tien Chunlon, the Executive Director for Commercial Vehicles at BYD; and Tariyel Rustamov, the Director of“Electrify Azerbaijan” LLC.

The Framework Agreement envisages the purchase of electric buses, their maintenance, and the establishment and localization of production within Azerbaijan.

The agreement aims to develop the electric transport infrastructure in our country, enhance passenger comfort, reduce environmental impact, and improve the country's environmental conditions.

The signing of this agreement ahead of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) to be hosted by Azerbaijan underscores the nation's commitment to global climate change mitigation efforts.

Within the framework of the Agreement, BYD considers investing in new production areas to enhance the value chain in our country. From 2026 on, the collaboration will extend to manufacturing low-tonnage electric trucks, utility vehicles, and electric passenger cars. From 2028 on, the focus will shift to assembling batteries for electricity storage. An additional investment of approximately $60 million is planned for these projects through a joint venture to be established.

In the meantime,“BakuBus” LLC will acquire 160 electric buses and 100 chargers from BYD, with plans to deploy these buses on Baku city routes by October 31, 2024.

The collaboration with BYD includes establishing local production and gradually localizing spare parts, starting in 2025. The project encompasses support mechanisms, joint venture financing, and the presentation of intellectual property rights, aiming for 40 percent localization of the buses' total costs by 2030.

The project agreement is scheduled for signing in September this year.

Azerbaijan Investment Company OJSC will participate in the project on the production of electric buses in our country as a shareholder. BYD's Azerbaijani partner is Electrify Azerbaijan LLC, part of the SARDA Group company.

The new joint venture will invest around $34 million to build an electric bus manufacturing plant in the Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park, with an annual production capacity of 500 buses to meet domestic and export demands. The project will create 800 new jobs.

To note, BYD, founded in 1995, has become the world's first company to achieve sales of 3 million new electric cars. It is a leading technological company known for adopting the latest innovations in car production, electronics, electric batteries, renewable energy, and railway transportation.

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