Business

FISH BREEDING FACTORY TO BE BUILT

The construction of a fish-breeding factory with the capacity of 15 million sturgeons a year is expected to start in Neftchala, as an agreement with the winner of the relative tender, Ferrostal/Azerenergytikinti alliance, has been signed.

The WB is expected to fund to initialize the construction. In all, the factory requires $9.1 million, with the Azerbaijan government pledging to allot $4.5 million. A source from the Baku office of the Ferrostal group of companies told Azernews Monday that the construction would be completed in 2003 as is stipulated in the tender conditions.

LAND MARKET REGULATORY CENTERS SET UP

10 regional centers were set up under the State Committee of Land and Mapping to regulate sales and purchases, legacy issues, land deposit, etc.

The centers were established in Nakhchivan, Ganja, Agdash, Salyan, Sabirabad, and other provinces and their number is expected to rise, chairman of the Committee Garib Mammadov told journalists Monday.

They were set up for local populations to resolve their land problems in the field.

INT'L WORKSHOP UNDERWAY IN BAKU

An international workshop, "Competitive grants programs - good practices for procurement, disbursement and financial management", was underway in Baku. It was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agency for Assistance in Private Sector Development in Agriculture and the World Bank.

Some 50 scholars, specialists and banking officials from Eastern and Central Europe, including Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikstan, as well as from the WB, SIMMIT, ICARDA, and FAO, took part in the workshop.

The workshop aimed to reform national research systems throughout the world, implement competitive grants programs and focus on the practices of different countries in this respect.

The workshop completed on November 16.

AZM5 BN SAVED AS TWO COMMITTEES MERGE

Chairman of the State Committee of Land and Mapping Garib Mammadov told journalists Friday that AZM5 billion in state funds were saved over the past six months after the Committee was set up in lieu of the state committees of land and geodesy.

The Committee of Land and Mapping was established following a presidential decree dated April 2001, as 22 jobs of 105 in the two abolished entities were slashed.

$6 MILLION IN INITIAL RUSSIAN INVESTMENT IN GANJA WORKS

Head of the Russian Vnesheconombank (Russian External Economic Bank) Andrey Kostin is expected to arrive in Baku on November 23 to mull over the production of Russian-styled Kamaz trucks at the automobile plant of Ganja, the first vice-premier Abbas Abbasov told journalists Thursday.

Also in focus will be the actual situation with automobile production and petrochemicals in Azerbaijan and investment opportunities, according to the official.

The Russian bank is expected to initially invest $6 million in the Ganja works.

BAKU STEEL EXPORTS 2,400 TONS OF STEEL BARS TO IRAN

Baku Steel Company exported 2400 tons of steel construction bars to Iran Thursday through Baku port to the Iranian port of Nofshar.

On October 8 the company suspended its production and renewed it on November 5. Since then, over 3000 tons of steel bars have been produced, with Thursday's consignment being the company's first export after the halt of production in October.