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ADB to finance construction of wastewater processing plant

Business Materials 19 November 2011 15:47 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, November 18 /Trend, N. Ismailova /

Under the $300-million second tranche of a loan assigned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project in Azerbaijan, a wastewater processing plant will be built in town Nakhchivan, the ADB reported.

"There is currently no wastewater utilization plant in the town. Wastewaters are now thrown into local streams and canals quite unclean. As a result, the unclean wastewaters that reach subsoil waters, rivers and lakes pose a menace to environment and human health," the report said.

The project was developed by the State Melioration and Water Economy Committee of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic jointly with the ADB and the Government of Azerbaijan. The project's key objective is to provide safe, reliable and stable wastewaters cleaning in town Nakhchivan through a plant to operate till 2034. The capacity of the new wastewater processing plant will be about 53,000 cubic meters per day.

The works will include construction of a membrane bio-reactor to allow using cleaned wastewaters for irrigation purposes. This sub-project is currently at the stage of preliminary designing. Construction works may begin in the second quarter of 2012.

"It is planned to design the project within three months till the end of December 2011. Contract documents and tender procedures will be completed and proposals will be assessed to provide conclusion of contract in March 2012".

After the contractor and the customer sign a design and work agreement, the plant's construction will be finished within 18 months. The final stage of the sub-project to begin after the plant is built will include personnel's training to plant's safe, reliable and efficient operation.

The ADB expects its management to approve the loan's second tranche before the end of the year. The loan money will be spent primarily for the completion of works of improvement of the water supply and sanitation system in Agdash, Peachey, and Nakhchivan, and the remaining money will be spent for the project's spread over Beilagan, too.

At its Website, the ADB said the second tranche will be approved on December 9.

By the moment, the ADB financed two water supply and sanitation improvement projects in Azerbaijan. The first, $30 million loan assigned in 2004 envisioned rehabilitation of the water supply system in Gekchay and Nakhchivan under a project valued at a total of $39.9 million. The period of the loan's exploration expired on June 30, 2011.

As the value of the project approved five years increased and for the reasons of full coverage of works in the said regions, the ADB assigned $75 million under the MFF as the first tranche whereas the Government of Azerbaijan assigned $25 million.

The MFF was approved in the amount of $600 million by the ADB Executive Board in September 2009. The ADB plans to approve the third, $175 million tranche of the loan on December 31, 2012.

The multi-tranche financing has been the basis of 8-year cooperation between the ADB and the Government of Azerbaijan.

The consultant of joint-stock company Azersu under the Project is consortium AICO Consulting Ltd./European Consultants Organization.

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