According to the information received by AzerTAj, The World Bank on June 3 approved $15 million to support economic development in three rural areas of Azerbaijan.

The project will help improve water supply, irrigation and social infrastructure in Shirvan, Mugan-Salyan and Nakhchivan. It also will teach local communities how to design and implement sustainable micro-projects.

This also will complement the Government's State Program on Socio-Economic Development of the Regions by supporting the rural infrastructure development.

Agriculture plays a central role in Azerbaijan's economy and remains the second largest sector. In the early 1990s, rural Azerbaijan used to have high levels of access to infrastructure. However, after the state and collective farms -- once responsible for operating agricultural supply chains and maintaining infrastructure in rural areas -- disintegrated, rural services and infrastructure started to rapidly decline. This contributed to a decrease in the living standards of about 4 million people (50% of the population). The Rural Investment Project addresses these challenges by providing micro-project investments to households in rural communities to improve their living standards and increase the use of infrastructure services.

"I believe the project will essentially provide the bedrock for implementation of the regional development plan of the government by providing rural infrastructure projects in a variety of sectors, such as water supply, irrigation, social infrastructure, etc.," said Ahmed Jehani, World Bank Country Manager in Azerbaijan. "It also will help the communities to learn how to design and implement sustainable micro-projects".

The Capacity Enhancement Component will help build capacity of all stakeholders engaged in the project in contracting, procurement, financial management, and monitoring and evaluation under micro-projects through trainings and technical assistance.

The third component covers Project Management and will finance the administrative and operational project implementation and management costs.

The project will start by helping support rural communities in three economic zones in Shirvan, Mugan-Salyan, and Nakhchivan.

By the time the project is completed, people living in the targeted regions will have access to improved infrastructure and new economic opportunities, and communities will be capable of identifying and designing projects based on their needs, local and central governments will be more exposed to decentralized decision-making which will enhance transparency and accountability, key factors of effective service delivery.

The Rural Investment Project has a maturity of 35 years, including a ten-year grace period.

Azerbaijan joined the World Bank in 1992. Since then, commitments to the country total approximately US$ 600 million for 21 operations.