Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. I.Khalilova / The World Bank (WB) expressed its readiness to issue the remaining loans to develop the agricultural sector of the country through the International Development Association (IDA), Razim Valiyev, the Director General of the State Agency on Agricultural Loans at the Azerbaijani Agricultural Ministry, said on 27 November.
The total volume of loans made up $127mln and the project must be ratified by 30 June 2008.
According to Valiyev, additional funds may be attracted to expand the currently implemented Azerbaijani Rural Investment Project (AzRIP) from the WB. The Government and the WB held negotiations during the last visit of the Director of South Caucasus, Donna Dowsett-Coirolo, to Baku. Azerbaijan appealed to expand the project to the bank.
AzRIP covers 21 regions in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR), Shirvan and Mugan-Salyan regions of Azerbaijan. The project is proposed to expand to 21 more regions. The assessment mission of the WB is expected to visit Baku to assess the project at the beginning of December. The WB may allocate $15 or $20mln, Valiyev considers.
The loan agreement by AzRIP was signed on 23 September 2004. The project came into force on 29 December 2004. The total cost of the project constituted $21.1mln. There are plans to complete the project by May 2009.