Chinese Government provides RMB 22.58 million grant - via a 2016 ETCA - for the provision of irrigation equipment to farm in Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic

On April 3, 2017, the Chinese Government officially handed over a batch of irrigation equipment to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic worth RMB 22.58 million. The grant proceeds that supported this project were drawn from an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) that the Chinese Government and the Government of Azerbaijan signed in 2016. The 80 units of donated equipment included thirteen sets of plastic welding machines, five wheeled metal welding machines, two air compressors, an underground water detector, a device for measuring the velocity of water, and eight leak detectors. China also planned to send technicians to assist in the setting up of the technology. The equipment was provided to Barkat Seed Farm (Bərəkət Toxumçuluq), which is a farm in Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic with 2,000 hectares of land, including 1023 hectares that are supported by an indoor irrigation network. Qingdao Aucma Import and Export Co., Ltd. is the contractor responsible for the provision and installation of equipment. On July 31, 2019, Azerbaijan and China signed an implementation contract for this project. Through this agreement, the Chinese government will cover the costs of transportation, insurance, installation, and maintenance of the equipment during the warranty period.

Additional details

The Azerbaijani project title is Azərbaycan su təsərrüfatında irriqasiya avadanlıqları. A Chinese Embassy source notes that a contract for the implementation of the agricultural equipment was signed on July 31, 2019. However, it is unclear why this contract was signed after the project handover date. It could be that some equipment was provided after the official project handover date. Alternatively, a second grant agreement could have been signed.

Number of official sources

7

Number of total sources

10