EDB to provide technical assistance to Armenia in developing  PPP  market

ArmInfo.The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is ready to consider requests from the private  sector and provide technical assistance to establish a fully functional public-private partnership (PPP) market in Armenia for the sustainable development of the country.

This was stated by Svetlana  Maslova, Director of PPP Projects at the EDB Project Support  Department, during an event on the Bank's technical assistance  project on the development of public-private partnership (PPP)  institutional environment and PPP competences building in the  Republic of Armenia in partnership with the Russian-Armenian  University. 

Recalling that the Armenian government has been working on the  development of PPP since 2008, Maslova added that legislative  initiatives and target aspirations in this area have already been  enshrined, and the areas of public services available for the  implementation of projects  have been identified.  However, as she  noted, the list of sectors available for PPP needs to be expanded,  since it does not currently meet the needs of infrastructure  development. According to her, experts recommend  including areas  such as digital structure, tourism, renewable energy sources, and  logistics infrastructure in this list.  Maslova also emphasized that  the PPP market in Armenia is still in its early stages of  development.

Maslova emphasized the importance of having a PPP database  for  institutional growth. " Although the legal framework for it exists in  Armenia, it is not yet operational The key element of the  institutional PPP system is the national PPP center, which is absent  in Armenia, while it is already present in all other EAEU countries,"  she noted.  Maslova expressed hope that the availability of financing  for PPP projects will become tangible, rather than nominal. She  recommended including credit guarantees in the list of types of state  support and developing a risk assessment methodology. In turn, Deputy  Chairman of the Management Board of the EDB Yaroslav Mandron noted  that three years ago an agreement was reached with the Armenian  government on the necessity of developing a strategy for the Bank's  operations in the country, particularly in the area of PPP  development. According to him, today the results of collaborative  efforts to address the tasks set are obvious.

"This is our first time conducting a PPP review. We have already made  progress: today we discussed the possibilities of cooperation with  the Ministry of Finance. They are willing to support  in terms of  financial resources and sharing their experience from other  countries. We look forward to collaborating with universities in the  future," Mandron emphasized.  The Bank representative highlighted the  interest of students and universities in this topic, emphasizing the  potential for developing PPP in private businesses in Armenia.