OREANDA-NEWS. December 13, 2012. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is ready to include alternative energy in its strategy on Azerbaijan.

ADB country representative Olli Noroyono has stated that use of renewable and alternative energy sources in view of its economic importance may be one of the priorities of the 5-year Country Partnership Strategy (CPS), which the Bank hopes to adopt in 2013.

"Today, we don’t have a specific plan for alternative energy, but expect to complete the process of organization of the State Company for Renewable & Alternative Energy Sources (AREA),” Noroyono said.

AREA is created on the basis of the State Agency for Renewable & Alternative Energy Sources (ABEMDA) under the Ministry of Industry and Energy of Azerbaijan.

"In the 1st quarter of 2013, we plan to present to the government the primary version of CPS, and before that to identify priority areas of our operations in the country - they will be traditional (transport, energy and utilities), or there appear new areas. Today, we can say for sure that the CPS will be built in accordance with Concept "Azerbaijan 2020: A Look into the Future", approval of which is expected in the near future," Noroyono said.

Since 2002, the ADB had no formal CPS on the country.

At the moment, seven projects of the Bank are active in the country, and its current portfolio is USD 990 million.