Early Warning System

Regions

Europe and Central Asia

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

Countries

Azerbaijan

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

Specific Location

Sumgait, Yalama

Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.

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

Proposed

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."

Borrower

Government of Azerbaijan

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

Sectors

Infrastructure
Transport

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

Investment Type(s)

Loan

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

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 131.50 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.

Loan Amount (USD)

$ 131.50 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

Project Disclosure PDF

Other Related Projects

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Jun 19, 2024

Disclosed by Bank May 17, 2024

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Can you contribute information about this project?
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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.

As stated by the ADB, the project will provide additional financing to complete the rehabilitation of 166 kilometers of double track rail line from Sumgait to Yalama, including civil structures and level crossings.

Under ADB's Railway Sector Development Program (RSDP), the Azerbaijan Railways Closed Joint Stock Company (ADY) implemented a comprehensive sector reform program through the policy-based loan component ($250 million). The project loan component ($150 million) finances the rehabilitation of approximately 166 kilometers (km) of double track rail line between Sumgait and Yalama, a section of CAREC designated rail corridor 6. The civil works contracts for the detailed design and construction were awarded on 5 December 2019 (two lots).

As of 1 February 2024, construction progress is 71% for Lot 1 and 57% for Lot 2. The current contractual project completion date is 31 December 2024. Project implementation experienced delays due to these causes: (i) the pandemic increased the mobilization time of staff and delayed commencement of the design works; (ii) changes to the exact scope of works following completion of the detailed design increased program timescales; and (iii) the delay in the delivery of new rails caused by the pandemic forced the Contractor to adopt an alternative methodology for track construction and to search for other suppliers. The expected output of the project remains unchanged.

On 9 April 2024, the government requested ADB for additional financing to complete the remaining civil works in the rail line rehabilitation.

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.

The ADB categorized the project risks as follows:

Environment - B;
Involuntary Resettlement - B;
Indigenous Peoples - C.

Investment Description

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

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

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 Railways CJSC is the national railways operator in 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)	Contractor	Transport

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.

ADB Team Leader:

Jurgen Sluijter - Senior transport specialist for Central and West Asia

No contacts provided at the time of disclosure.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.