Azerbaijan, Baku, July 19 /Trend I.Khalilova/
The end of July 2012 is deadline for signing the loan agreement between the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Azerbaijan on the second loan of $200 million for the construction of roads Masalli - Astara, Baku Office of the bank told Trend on Thursday.
"All the documents for signing were presented to the Government on July 16. If the loan agreement isn't signed until the end of July, the Ministry of Transport of the country will need to contact the bank for an extension of these deadlines," the ADB said.
Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF) allocated $500 million for the road project, part of the Road Network Development Programme. The loan was approved in August 2007 and MFF allocated $400 million for the construction of the Masalli - Astara road.
ADB extended the term of the first loan ($200 million) for the reconstruction of the highway Masalli-Astara to December 31, 2013 due to delays in the implementation of the project.
At present the construction of the first section (A) of the road, which is being carried out by the Azerinsaatservis Construction Company is underway and it is planned to announce a new tender to determine contractors on the other two sites (B and C).
The process of land acquisition for the construction of a new four-lane road is delayed due to the fact that number of owners of the land is abroad.
In any case, changes to the project will not require attraction of additional funds, because the loan worth $200 million approved recently by ADB already includes incidental expenses.
Azerbaijan has been a member of the ADB since 1999. The bank's active credit portfolio reaches $680 million. ADB has allocated grants amounting to $13.122 million to the Azerbaijan government and local companies during the period of cooperation.
ADB was established in 1966 and has 67 members. Its headquarters is located in the capital of the Philippines, Manila. Azerbaijan became a member of the Asian Development Bank on December 22, 1999. The country's participation share in the bank's capital is 0.5 per cent.
Japan and the US which own 31.2 per cent of the total share capital, India and China with 12.8 per cent andAustralia, South Korea and Canada, having 16 per cent makes them ADB's leading shareholders