ADB recommends engaging private sector in road maintenance in Azerbaijan

By 2023, the Azerbaijani government plans to increase road maintenance budget allocations to $223.7 million, Report informs, referring to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The budget for road maintenance was increased from $55 million in 2006 (about $9,700 per km) to nearly $190 million in 2019 (about $11,500 per km) for the entire network, including local and rural roads.

State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads (AAY), responsible for highway maintenance, established seven new specialized regional road maintenance units with the World Bank’s assistance.

The introduction of tolling in Azerbaijan will likely contribute to the overall sustainability of the expressways, according to ADB experts. The government expects that after the successful implementation of tolling on the M1 expressway (on the highway section from Baku to the border with Russia), tolling will gradually be introduced on other highways as well.

The ADB recommends engaging the private sector to improve the efficiency of road maintenance funds.

"After the collapse of the Soviet Union, most roads in Azerbaijan were in poor condition due to inadequate funding for road maintenance and poor management of weight control. As a result, a large part of the road network needed reconstruction and rehabilitation. Poor road conditions resulted in high transport costs, long travel time, and safety hazards," ADB experts said.

"Recognizing these challenges, the Government of Azerbaijan prioritized road infrastructure development in its State Program on Poverty Reduction and Economic Development for 2003–2005 and the State Program on Socioeconomic Development of Regions for 2004–2008. At the sector level, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) developed Road Network Development Program for 2006–2015 in July 2006," ADB noted.

Given Azerbaijan’s geographic location, the country strategy and program update identified roads as a priority area for ADB assistance.

To assist the government in meeting these challenges, ADB approved a $500 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) for the Road Network Development Program in September 2007.

The MFF envisaged reconstruction of the Masalli-Astara section, the rehabilitation, and expansion of the Ganja ring road and construction of four bridges (one railway overpass and three bridges across the rivers) on the Agstafa-Poylu-Georgian border road, the rehabilitation of local roads in Ganja city (365 kilometers to the west from Baku).