WB allots $300m for Azeri roads

The World Bank has allocated a $300 million loan for the repair of Azerbaijan’s highways.

The maturity of the loan allotted under the Highway 2 Project is 40 years, while the grace period is 10 years, the bank said.

The project aims to reduce road transport costs and improve access, transit and road safety by upgrading and rehabilitating selected sections of the existing East-West and North-South corridors. The additional financing will be for the upgrading of a remaining 112 km of the highway between Alat and Masalli and reconstruction of the 41 km long Tagiyev – Sahil bypass that connects the roads from Baku to Russian and Iranian borders. It will also cover rehabilitation of about 200 km of local roads, technical assistance, monitoring and evaluation, and the cost of financial audits.

The WB has also disbursed a $8 million credit for agricultural development in Kyrgyzstan.*