Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 31
By Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:
The amount of the loan allocated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the North-South Transport Corridor project as well as for development of the railway sector in Azerbaijan increased to $575 million with the French Development Agency’s joining the financing, a source in ADB’s Baku office has told Trend.
ADB will allocate $400 million, while the French Development Agency will allocate $175 million as co-financing.
ADB’s funds will be allocated in two tranches of $250 million and $150 million, respectively, while the funds of the French Development Agency will be allocated in tranches of $75 million and $100 million.
It is also planned to provide technical assistance in the amount of $1 million for the project.
ADB was founded in 1966. Sixty-seven states are its members. Azerbaijan became an ADB member on Dec. 22, 1999.
The International North-South Transport Corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia. At the initial stage, it is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo per year through the corridor and over 10 million tons of cargo in the future.