Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend A.Gasimova / The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors have approved a US$ 30 million loan for the Real Estate Registration Project for the Republic of Azerbaijan. The statement of the Bank says that the objective of the project is to ensure a reliable, transparent and efficient real estate registration system to improve both the legal security for real estate and the management and use of State-owned immovable property in the country. The loan for the Real Estate Registration Project has a maturity of 20 years with a 5-year grace period.
"There are some concerns in Azerbaijan that the process of dealing with property can be slow, expensive and subject to non-transparent processes, but it is imperative to institute systems that are rapid, inexpensive and trusted by the public if the economic development experienced so far in Azerbaijan is to grow further and be sustainable," said Gavin Adlington, head of the World Bank team designing the project.
In addition, the statement says that when it was part of the former Soviet Union, Azerbaijan had a command economy with very limited private property ownership. Following independence, the country implemented many market-oriented reforms, including de-collectivization of land, privatization of State-owned property and housing stock. In this context, security of title to land and immovable property, and the ability to transact in the real estate market and obtain credit are fundamental for small and medium-sized enterprises, rural development and labor mobility.
The project's key beneficiaries will be those people and businesses that want security in their land or property in order to invest or acquire capital using real estate as security for loans. . Azerbaijan joined the World Bank in 1992. Since then, commitments to the country total approximately US$ 1,025 billion for 36 operations.