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WB allocates $ 80 mln loan to Azerbaijan

27 April 2011 09:24 (UTC +04:00)

The World Bankâ€™s Board of Directors today approved a US$ 76.80 million equivalent IDA credit and a US$ 3.20 million IBRD loan for the Azerbaijan Water Users Associations Development Support Project (WUAP). With the US$ 34.30 million Government contribution, the total financing for the project is estimated at US$ 114.30 million. The goal of the project is to improve the water supply in irrigation systems managed by farmers.

With favourable climate and soils, Azerbaijan has a comparative advantage in the agricultural sector, but irrigation is a critical input for profitable crop production. Many irrigation systems need to be rehabilitated, especially the on-farm systems which are managed by water users themselves. Previous projects supported by the World Bank, helped water users with training to take over the management of irrigation systems, and with rehabilitation of the irrigation infrastructure. The new project will expand this support to a larger area and the majority of water users in the country.

The WUAP focuses on strengthening the capacity of Water Users Associations (WUAs), which are responsible for the management of on-farm irrigation systems. â€œThe project will provide training and support to about 379 WUAs on almost 900,000 hectares, helping them to improve the water supply to their members.

The project will also finance the rehabilitation of almost 3,000 km of irrigation and drainage canals and water regulation structures, benefitting 85,500 ha and 34 WUAs. Experience from previous projects show that this helps farmers to significantly increase their yields and raise their family income.â€

Note that Azerbaijan has been in cooperation with WB since 1992. Since joining the World Bank in 1992, the commitments to Azerbaijan total approximately US$ 2.9 billion for 43 projects.