Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr I. Khalilova / The limit for the foreign arrears envisaged in the draft public budget-2008, which has been submitted to Azerbaijani President's Administration, was increased to AZN 2.5bln (AZN 1.2bln in public budget-2007), Azerbaijani Miniter of Finance, Samir Sharifov, said.
The double increase in the arrears was caused by the plans on Eurobonds' placement, issue volume of which may be raised from $300mln to $500mln.
According to the Finance Ministry, besides, foreign credits in the amount of $600-$700mln is planned to be drawn from European banks for reconstruction of Azerbaijan's AliBayramli hydroelectric power station, $300-$400mln for construction of highways, and $160mln is planned to be drawn from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for improvement of the water supply system, $300mln for support to trade and transport. Additional financing can be achieved for solution of ecological problems in the Absheron Peninsula and for other projects mainly regarding highway construction.
Those are the largest projects each costing over $100mln, but the credits are expected to be small.
The arrears limit for 2005 was defined at $200mln. In 2006, the sum was doubled due to necessity in arrears for implementation of large-scale projects, but later after re-consideration of budget forecasts it was tripled - to $1.2bln.
