The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) must provide the necessary gas infrastructure for the Dashkasan iron ore project and the related cluster.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov made the statement at a meeting chaired by President Ilham Aliyev on the “State Program for the development of the mining (metal ores) and metallurgical industries in 2027-2030.”
He said that AzerGold CJSC would oversee the development of the Dashkasan iron ore, gold, copper and other projects: “Azerbaijan Investment Holding will be involved in aluminum and other metallurgical projects through its portfolio companies. The private sector’s main role will be to invest in new production and processing capacities.”
Addressing the investment environment and financing opportunities, the minister said that further improving the investment climate was among the objectives for achieving the state program’s goals: “State support, investment incentives and other stimulating measures are being expanded. The legal and institutional framework must also be aligned with modern requirements. I would say that expanding financing opportunities is one of the most pressing issues. One of the main challenges facing not only this sector but industry as a whole is access to long-term loans. In particular, mining and metallurgical projects take five years or more from the adoption of a decision and the start of implementation to production. The availability of long-term financing is especially important for such projects. This helps reduce the burden on the budget and creates additional revenues in the financial ecosystem and banking system.”
He noted that, in this regard, it was important to expand access to loans with maturities of 10 years or longer and increase the participation of local banks in financing large-scale, long-term projects. He said there was also an objective challenge: “Our banks may objectively lack sources of funding with such long maturities. I would like to note that opportunities for long-term and concessional lending in this area remain quite limited. Therefore, Mr. President, we propose that policy measures on long-term financing be prepared with the participation of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, the Central Bank, the State Oil Fund and other relevant institutions, and that appropriate financing mechanisms be determined and submitted for your consideration.”
