Report issued on the public disclosure and consultation process in Azerbaijan
13 January 2004
CEE Bankwatch Network has released its report, "Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey pipeline systems: An evaluation of the public disclosure and consultation process."
A new report by the CEE Bankwatch Network consultant in Azerbaijan evaluates the IFC/EBRD public disclosure and consultation process over the period of July through October 2003 for four projects projects in the country:
- the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline (BTC);
- Azeri, Chirag, Guneshli oil fields exploitation;
- Baku-Erzurum gas pipeline; and
- Shah Deniz gas fields exploitation.
The report finds a number of deficiencies in the process concluding that, "just a very small proportion of affected and interested citizens could participte in the consultation processs... Many people also failed to receive satisfactory answers to their questions; in some cases they received no answer at all. Although the AGT pipelines are already under construction, many in Azerbaijan feel completely ignored and are dissatisfied with the process, which cannot be affectd by the public's comments."