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Ministry: Financial negotiations continue on Caspian Sea water desalination project

Turkan Vusat, Head of the Public-Private Partnership Sector of the Project Management Department at the Ministry of Economy

14 October 2026 12:39 (UTC +04:00)

Financial negotiations are currently underway for the construction of a drinking water production plant through the desalination of Caspian Sea water, Turkan Vusat, Head of the Public-Private Partnership Sector of the Project Management Department at the Ministry of Economy, said during her speech at the Third National Competition Forum held in Baku, APA-Economics reports.

According to her, this is the first pilot project being implemented in Azerbaijan under the public-private partnership mechanism.

Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power was selected as the winner of the tender for the project, and the relevant agreement was signed last year.

Vusat stated that the project envisages attracting $407 million in investment. This is significant in terms of attracting major investments and modern technologies to the country's non-oil sector.

She noted that investors for public-private partnership projects are selected based on two models: open tender and direct negotiations.

In an open tender, the investor submitting the best proposal that meets predetermined price, quality, and technical requirements is selected as the winner.

Direct negotiations are possible in three cases established by legislation: when there is only one company on the market offering the relevant technological solution, in defense and security projects requiring confidentiality, or when only one investor submits a qualifying proposal in a tender.