Azerbaijan, Baku, May 18 / Trend , N.Ismaylova /
The deployment of mobile infrastructure and services continues to be a key requirement for regional development. Whether it is €0.8million in joint financing with the Bank of Baku to Irshad Telecom to improve its chain of mobile phone shops in Azerbaijan, or €115million to MTS of Russia to help it expand its 3G network across Russia and Uzbekistan and upgrade existing networks in Turkmenistan, the EBRD is fully supporting the development of mobile telephony across its countries of operations, the EBRD annual report 2008 said.
Regional expansion in telecommunications was a dominant theme in 2008. For example, providing €26.2million to Caucasus Online in Georgia, allowed the construction of a high capacity sub-sea fibre cable between Georgia and Bulgaria to be completed. With extensions connecting Georgia to Azerbaijan and Armenia, this cable will provide a more cost-effective means of transporting communications traffic from the service operators of the Caucasus and Central Asia to Western Europe.
In 2008, the EBRD invested €235 million in communications, media and technology projects, with a further €210million being mobilised through co-financing with other IFIs and commercial banks. By investing in information and communication technology (ICT), the EBRD is helping the transition economies to diversify by spurring innovation and competition.
In 2008 the bank's investments for Azerbaijan totaled €81 million, but in 2007 this figure amounted to €122 million.
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