Details added (first version posted on 12:19)
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
The Arab company Dubai Port World (DP World), one of the world’s major port operators, which provides consulting services for creation of the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Azerbaijan, has prepared a draft law “On a Free Trade Zone”, said Azerbaijani Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev.
He made the remarks during the presentation of a report on the FTZ in the Alat township of Baku’s Garadagh district.
“Last year we signed a contract with the DP World company. The company has done a great job, which can be divided into three main areas. This is the preparation of the territory’s general plan, the development of a draft law “On a Free Trade Zone”, as well as feasibility studies of the project,” noted the minister.
Mustafayev said that proposals, prepared by DP World after discussion with representatives of relevant government structures, will be presented to the head of state.
Meanwhile, the minister said that freight traffic increased significantly in the first quarter of 2017, he added.
“The volume of oil transportation increased by 34 percent and non-oil – by almost 50 percent in the 1Q17 as compared to the same period of 2016. Moreover, the volume of road freight also increased by 50 percent. Last year, the Port of Baku transshipped three million tons of cargo, and after completion of the port’s construction, its cargo transshipment capacity will be 15 million tons of cargo per year,” said the minister.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree March 17, 2016, on measures to create a free trade zone type special economic area covering the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat township of Baku’s Garadagh District.