Early Warning System

Countries

Azerbaijan

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Apr 1, 2025

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Government of Azerbaijan - Ministry of Digital Development and Transportation

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Energy
Technical Cooperation
Transport

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Grant

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 1.25 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 1.25 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Bank Documents

Preparing the Azerbaijan Railway Company Decarbonization Project: Technical Assistance Report

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Nov 8, 2025

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Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, Azerbaijan aims to establish itself as an international logistics hub by 2025, enhancing connectivity via the East-West and North-West Corridors and diversifying trade routes through the Middle Corridor to boost economic resilience and regional integration. With the growing volume of freight transport, the state-owned Azerbaijan Railway Company (ADY) is aligning with international best practices, focusing on decarbonization to support the country's climate targets. ADY is advancing its decarbonization agenda by shifting from diesel to electric traction and increasing the use of renewable electricity, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing costs. This transition will also generate co-benefits like improved air quality, reduced public health costs, and job creation in clean energy.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

According to the Technical Assistance Report, the Risk Categories are:

Environment: Not Applicable
Involuntary Resettlement: Not Applicable
Indigenous Peoples: Not Applicable

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

The TA financing totals $1.25 million, of which (i) $1.00 million will be financed on a grant basis by the Smart Energy Innovation Fund under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility, and administered by ADB; and (ii) $0.25 million will be financed on a grant basis by ADB’s Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF-other sources). The TA is the “first of its kind” and not the subject of cost recovery.

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Azerbaijan Railway Company (ADY) is the national state-owned rail transport operator in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
-	-	-	-	Azerbaijan Railways CSJC (ADY)	Undisclosed	-

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Project Officer: Rafayil Abbasov
Designation: Principal Energy Specialist - Asian Development Bank
Email: rabbasov@adb.org