Azerbaijan, Baku, 12 March / corr Trend U.Ismayilova / The non-governmental organizations (NGO) of Azerbaijan - National Budget Group and the Coalition to Support EITI initiatives, will present to Azerbaijan a package of proposals on application of mechanism on public control over the public budget expenses.
On 12 March, NGOs held a roundtable entitled 'Public expenses: efficiency and transparency' in Baku.
During the roundtable the NGO representatives stated that the budget investment for 2004-2008 increased by 25 times, whilst in 2008-2011 the increase is expected to reach AZN 3bln.
In accordance with analysis by NGO, it is planned to realize 978 investments project in Azerbaijan, including 282 projects in the education sector, 150 projects on repair and construction of administrative buildings of state organizations.
In 2007-2008, a total of AZN 327.1mln was invested in the construction of roads and road junctions in Baku, about AZN 120mln in the construction of a road from the Baku airport to Azizbayov subway station, ANZ 90mln in the construction of the Heydar Aliyev Center, AZN 78.9mln in the construction of sport and Olympic centers, AZN 62.6mln in the construction of garbage refining plant, AZN 45.6mln in the repair of the Heydar Aliyev Palace.
The NGO experts stated that despite allocation of tremendous funds for mega projects in Azerbaijan, this sum, as well as winners of tenders for selection of construction contractors, is not publicized, testifying the non-transparency of pubic budget expenses.
To define exactly the public budget investments, the Azerbaijan Government must ensure the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the public budget.
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