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ADB to send an energy mission to Azerbaijan

10 December 2009 11:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev - APA-Economics. Martin Endelman, a principal energy specialist with the Asian Development Bank, will travel to Azerbaijan from December 10 through 15.

Besides, the bankâ€™s another specialist Ms. Cleo Kawawaki will come to Baku from December 13 through 19.

â€œThey will have meetings at AzerEenerji to discuss the energy projects under implementation,â€ said the ADB Office in Baku.

Pil-Bae Song, Director of the ADB Department of Energy and Natural Resources, will also visit Azerbaijan from December 13 through 18.

The Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank approved a $160 million loan for the Power Transmission Enhancement Project in Azerbaijan.
The 25-year loan will help build a double-circuit 220 kilovolt transmission line and associated substation facilities, replacing two existing lines which have been in use for about 60 years by state-owned power company, AzerEnerji.
Over 20% of the countryâ€™s energy equipment and more than half of its network facilities are well beyond their useful life, resulting in frequent power failures, system losses, and the threat of a collapse of the energy grid.
The upgrade will remove transmission choke points, lower system losses, and provide a more stable power supply, especially in the key Azeri industrial hub, near the capital city of Baku.
It will also cut the need for imported electricity, optimize the countryâ€™s hydropower resource, and reduce fossil fuel consumption and pollution. The gas and oil saved will be exported, giving a boost to government coffers.
ADBâ€™s loan will support the Governmentâ€™s priority program of reforming and developing the power industry to protect its energy security. It will also act as a potential catalyst for attracting private sector investment.
The project costs in total $240 million in total, $80 million of which will be provided by AzerEnerji.