Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is improving public transport in the capital of Azerbaijan by supporting the acquisition of 35 new buses with a loan of 6 million euros in Azerbaijani manat equivalent, the EBRD said in a message July 12.
The loan has been extended to the largest privately-owned passenger bus operator in Baku, Khaliq Faiqoglu LLC, which is currently providing over 20 percent of bus services in the capital and in 2017 alone transported over 100 million passengers, according to the message.
The investment will support the process of transforming Khaliq Faiqoglu into a modern urban transport operator, the EBRD noted.
“The loan will finance the procurement of 35 new low-floor diesel buses which will be fully compliant with the EU Euro 6 emission standard for light passenger and commercial vehicles,” said the message. “They will replace old buses and reduce the company’s annual CO2 emissions by 2,853 tons.”
Azerbaijan has been cooperating with the EBRD since 1992. Since then, the bank has invested more than $3 billion in 165 projects in the financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors of Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, 26 percent of investments fall on the private sector.
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