Azerbaijan, Baku, 5 February / Trend corr. I.Khalilova / Christian Petersen, the leading WB economist, began a visit to Azerbaijan in order to supervise the implementation of a three-year assistant strategy to Azerbaijan for 2007-2010 from 5 to 15 February, WB Baku representative reported.
Within the framework of the visit, the delegation will discuss the possible renewal of the strategy, as preparations to complete the used quota of the previous strategy to the end of the first quarter of 2008 are being carried out. The current strategy is assessed at $1.26bln.
Presently, the work is being carried out on 12 projects, the financing of which will allow assimilating the quota. The 6th one will be financed on privilege conditions to the amount of $131mln from the International Development Association (IDA).
The privilege financing covers the improvement of social conditions of internally displaced persons, agricultural investments, modernization of financial sector, CAPSAP, reformation of educational system and providing social aid.
Another six projects (development of transport and trade through railroad, reconstruction of the highway, improvement of the water system and the clean-up of the environment) will be financed through the International Reconstruction and Development Bank (IRDB). Furthermore, additional funds may be allocated for the water project through IDA.
Under the new WB assistant program, Azerbaijan will have access only to commerce bank resources.