Baku, Azerbaijan, June 5
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has suspended a number of projects in Azerbaijan, related to the retail sector, the head of the Baku office of the bank Neil McKain told Trend.
"In recent months, some projects were a bit delayed," he said. "We have not canceled them, just our customers started to experience a slight delay with their plans, so these projects can be continued next year."
He said that last year, the bank allocated $300 million to Azerbaijan for 21 projects, and it is expected to allocate $250 million to finance 15-18 projects in 2015.
"In Azerbaijan, I see great opportunities for work, especially in the area of infrastructure," McKain said. "The government supports our plans to increase funding for infrastructure projects."
"Nevertheless, we are interested not only in major projects, but also small ones," he said. "We consider them as very important projects. We are interested in the projects on solid waste management and reconstruction of the water supply system in the country."
"Our approach helps introduce commercial principles in these spheres," he said.
Production of construction materials, food products, light industry, agriculture are among the prospective spheres for the EBRD, he added.
"These sectors are very promising. Moreover, the spheres which are currently undergoing import substitution, have become more promising than before the devaluation [On February 21, 2015, dollar in the country rose by almost 34 percent]," EBRD Baku Office head said.
EBRD has allocated 2.3 billion euros to finance around 160 projects in various economic spheres of the country since the start of cooperation with Azerbaijan.
One of the main tasks of EBRD is to ensure the stable development of Azerbaijan's non-oil sector by investing in the small and medium-sized private enterprises.
Azerbaijan is the largest recipient of EBRD funds in the Caucasus, as well as one of the largest recipients of this organization's funds in the CIS and Eastern Europe. The EBRD invested 238 million euros in the implementation of 21 projects in Azerbaijan in 2014.
Edited by CN
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