ADB Approves $47 Million Loan to Help Digitalize Azerbaijan’s Railways

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (1 October 2024) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today approved a $47 million loan that will help Azerbaijan digitalize its railway system, enhancing the safety, reliability, and efficiency of the country’s railway networks. 

Through the Azerbaijan Railways Digital Transformation Project, ADB will support the digitalization of key processes in Azerbaijan Railways Closed Joint Stock Company (ADY), the national state-owned railway operator. These include the management of cargo operations, maintenance and repair of assets, and investment planning. 

The project will also develop a system for clients to access information, including shipment pricing and tax calculations. The project will also finance digital enhancements to ADY’s corporate functions such as budgeting and contract management.

“A modernized and digitally enhanced railway system will support Azerbaijan’s key role in connecting the economies of East and Central Asia with the Caucasus and Europe,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov. “We are pleased to back this initiative, which will help Azerbaijan maximize its strong potential as a trade and connectivity hub.”

Despite the country’s strategic location and the government’s focus on infrastructure development, Azerbaijan’s railway sector has struggled to maintain its market share due to aging infrastructure and limited digitalization.

“Digitalization is critical to enhancing operational efficiency, improving competitiveness, and fully leveraging Azerbaijan's role in regional transit corridors,” said ADB Transport Specialist Nanyan Zhou. “This financing will improve ADY’s operational and financial performance through streamlined data management, and optimized asset management and overall rail operations.”

Azerbaijan’s railway lines are a key node in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Corridors 2 and 6, two of six key economic and trade corridors that crisscross the region. The project is aligned with the CAREC Transport Strategy 2030 and the Railway Strategy for CAREC, 2017–2030 which seek to improve rail and multimodal infrastructure, and commercialize and reform railways.

Since Azerbaijan joined the bank in 1999, ADB has committed more than $5 billion in sovereign and private sector assistance, including in transport, energy, health care, and agriculture.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.