Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 12
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will approve the allocation of the first loan tranche to improve power supply in Azerbaijan in February 2016, said the message of the bank posted on its website.
The meeting to review the project management will take place November 16, 2015, the bank said.
Approval of the allocation of the first tranche by the bank is expected February 17, 2016.
In May 2015, the Azerbaijani electricity distribution network operator Azerishig and ADB signed a memorandum of understanding on an investment program, stipulating the reconstruction and modernization of Azerbaijan's energy system.
Under the investment program's project, the ADB will allocate three tranches of $750 million ($250 million each trance), and the remaining $250 million will be allocated by the Azerbaijani government. These funds will be drawn within five years.
The allocated funds are planned to be used to upgrade the electricity distribution network, substations, improvement of services rendered to customers, replacement of existing counters with the digital ones, and the strengthening of human resource capacity of the Azerishig.
ADB was founded in 1966 and has 67 members. The bank's headquarters is located in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Azerbaijan became ADB member on December 22, 1999. The country's share in the bank's capital is 0.5 percent.
ADB's leading shareholders are Japan and the United States (31.2 percent of the total share capital), India and China (12.8 percent), Australia, South Korea and Canada (16 percent) and so on.
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