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Weekly Lists
August 2, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 22
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Infrastructure
ADB lends $415mn for highway segment in Georgia mountains
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $415mn loan for the construction of a 23-km highway between Kvesheti and Kobi in Georgia’s mountains along the North-South Transport Corridor. The project will cost $550mn.
The route, important for freight transport in the region including in neighbouring countries, is frequently closed during the winter.
The project is part of a large-scale plan. Officials aim to use it to help improve the transport network and establish Georgia as the region's trade and tourism hub.
“The new road will allow for safer and faster movement for locals, tourists and truck drivers alike, especially on the Jvari Pass where there is a high level of avalanche hazard in winter, "the ADB said in a statement.
The North-South Transport Corridor passes along a difficult geographical route characterised by heavy snowfalls that block roads in the winter period.
The highway will be a two-lane, 22.7-km long asphalt-concrete road and will include 6 bridges and 5 tunnels, the longest stretching over 9 km.
Azerbaijan may be able to do without a $750mn loan from the World Bank for the $40bn Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project aimed at carrying gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, the country’s finance min- ister said on August 1.
SGC and the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency agreed the loan in June last year. It was guaranteed by Azerbaijan’s government.
“Azerbaijan no longer needs a loan of $750 million, although negotia- tions with international financial institutions have already been held and an agreement has been reached on the allocation of these funds,” Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov said, as quoted by Reuters.
“This became possible as a result of cost optimisation in the Southern Gas Corridor project and free cash flow after the launch of the TANAP project,” he added.
Azerbaijan may not need $750mn World Bank loan for SGC gas-to-Europe project says finance minister