Baku, Azerbaijan, March 17
By Ilkin Shafiyev – Trend:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will support the implementation of projects within the public-private partnership in Azerbaijan, Head of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Azerbaijan Office Nariman Mannapbekov said in an interview with Trend and Azernews.
“There are many public-sector projects which can be quite beneficial to the economy; and there are also plenty of private-sector projects which can also contribute to the economic development with no debt burden to the State,” he said. “In this respect, the government is rightly aiming at addressing the current infrastructure bottlenecks via public-sector investments while taking measures to create conducive environment for private sector participation in large infrastructure projects.”
“The State can support projects with the external financing if it sees the clear end results with the “win-win” outcome,” he said. “For example, the ADB-funded power distribution project helps to: (i) reduce the technical and commercial losses in the network; (ii) increase the collection rate; (iii) lessen the fiscal burden and strengthen the financial sustainability of the distribution company including improvement of corporate governance and transparency; (iv) foster innovation through new technologies; (v) meet country’s growing energy needs for inclusive development, especially in secondary cities and rural areas. ADB can continue the support of the second phase of this project and other projects with the multiple “wins”.”
ADB was founded in 1966 and 67 states are its members. The bank’s headquarters is located in Manila, Philippines.
Azerbaijan became an ADB member in 1999. The country's share in the bank's capital is 0.5 percent.