Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.4 / Trend, I. Khalilova /
An investment program is under preparation city transport development in Baku. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $ 300 million to finance this program, ADB business plan on Azerbaijan for 2011-2013, posted the bank's official website, says.
The bank plans to allocate the first tranche of this loan in 2013.
An advisory mission of urban transport specialists Arnaud Dauphin and Bertrand Goalou from Urban Development and Water Division arrived in Baku in early year to study opportunities for funding city transport development in the country. The meetings were held in the Transport Ministry, Azerbaijan Railways, and the Baku Metro.
The ADB is ready to finance any sector in city transport. But the priorities and needs of the government to assist the bank will be determined during the meetings
At present, the ADB is implementing large projects on city transport in Georgia.
Azerbaijan has been a member of the ADB since 1999. The credit portfolio across the country amounts to $680 million.
The ADB is implementing projects in both the public and private sectors in energy, transport, and city development.
The ADB was established in 1966 and has 67 members. Its headquarters are in Manila. Azerbaijan joined the ADB in December 1999 and its share in the bank's capital is 0.5 percent.
The ADB's leading shareholders are Japan and the United States (31.2 percent), India and China (12.8 percent), Australia, and South Korea and Canada (16 percent).