The Moldovan Government has accomplished negotiations with three Azerbaijan companies - Azpetrol, Azertrans, and Azpetrol - and signed with them, on Wednesday, an agreement on realization of a major investment project in Jurjulesti

The Moldovan Government has accomplished negotiations with three Azerbaijan companies - Azpetrol, Azertrans, and Azpetrol - and signed with them, on Wednesday, an agreement on realization of a major investment project in Jurjulesti (on the Danube River, in southern Moldova). After prolonged intensive negotiations, the sides eventually achieved mutually acceptable accords on all main issues, including on the unfinished oil terminal construction in Jurjulesti, the building and running of a passenger/freight port and of an oil refinery there. This signed Investment Agreement will serve the basis for subsequent adoption of a package of legislative and regulatory acts that should enable the commencement of these essential projects in the near future. The Moldovan Government hopes that realization of this Agreement will permit to resolve the problem of the credit obtained from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in the mid-1990s for the Jurjulesti oil terminal construction. The terms of the Investment Agreement are withheld, so far. The Jurjulesti oil terminal construction was launched in 1996 and was to be completed in 1999. However, the works at the $38 million object have been completed by only 50% to-date, and frozen. Moldova holds 41 percent in the Terminal Co., Technovax - 39 percent, and the rest belongs to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which has invested $18 million in the building undertaking. Now the Bank is demanding from the Moldovan Government to repay the money through attracting a new investor. Interest to the Jurjulesti project completion was shown by the Moscow City Government, and Inmortrans Co. of Russia, and the Azov Seaport Co. of Russia, but their offers were declined by Chisinau. According to some sources, the Azerbaijan investors were asking a whole package of privileges from Moldova: payment of the profit tax at only a quarter of its usual 20% rate, i.e. at only 5%; a lower VAT rate; and cancellation of excises on the importation of crude oil for 50 years . Naturally, such privileges are causing discontent from behalf of other importers working on the local market, such as Lukoil, Petrom, RomPetrol, Tirex-Petrol.