Baku, Azerbaijan, April 4
By Matanat Nasibova - Trend:
Starting from April 5, financial assistance will be provided to the entrepreneurs who have suffered as a result of the fire in the Diglas shopping center in Baku, the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev said at a briefing, Trend reports.
The minister noted that this is the first stage of financial assistance, in which entrepreneurs will be able to receive part of the funds. The rest will be paid after the final amount of damage is established.
According to the decree of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the rules on issuing compensation to entrepreneurs were prepared within three days, he added.
"In order to receive the allocated funds, the affected persons must apply to the Agency for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, which will pay them through Kapital Bank and TuranBank," Mustafayev said.
Mustafayev stressed that a bank commission would not be withheld when receiving money.
"This term is also fixed in the rules for issuing material assistance. Initially, by order of the head of state, three million manats were allocated for this purpose, while it was established that 10,000 manats will be issued to store owners, and 2,000 manats to stall owners," the minister said.
The minister also noted that the affected entrepreneurs will be able to take advantage of concessional loans. In total, it is expected that concessional loans worth 14-15 million manats will be allocated.
"Work in this direction will begin as soon as possible," he added.
On March 26, a strong fire occurred in the Diglas shopping center in Baku.
During the fire, four floors of the shopping center burnt down, each of which holding an area of 2,500 square meters, the attic 1,200 square meters and a three-storey basement with household goods, clothes and other products. In total, the fire covered an area of 16,500 square meters.
On March 28, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in connection with the fire in the Diglas shopping center.
During the meeting, the Azerbaijani president stressed that a commission will be set up to fully investigate the fire and prepare proposals, and at the same time, businessmen will be promptly provided with material assistance.
During several days, meetings were held with more than 400 entrepreneurs, their problems were discussed individually and comprehensive information was collected on each case.
Entrepreneurs received stores in other shopping centers, where they won’t pay rent for five months. Also, these entrepreneurs will be able to take advantage of concessional loans from the Entrepreneurship Development Fund at a rate lower than the current one.
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