Gazprombank, the Italian export credit agency, the Russian export credit agency EXIAR and Azerbaijani company SOCAR have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the financing and construction of a gas chemical complex in Azerbaijan.

According to the press service of Gazprombank, the signing ceremony took place in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

New large-scale petrochemical project envisages the construction in Azerbaijan processing and gas chemical plants with participation of Russian and Italian partners.

According to preliminary estimates, total investment budget of the project is 3.5 billion USD. The potential volume of deliveries of Russian equipment and materials and the cost of construction and installation services to Russian contractors for the project will amount to 20% of the investment budget.

"Gazprombank Group is already implementing a number of large projects with SOCAR in Azerbaijan. This mutually beneficial cooperation is a good example of combining the financial and technological capabilities of the Group", Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank, Andrey Akimov said.

SOCAR Polymer is an international project, the first project of its kind and scale in the petrochemical industry in Azerbaijan implemented over the past 40 years. Enterprise companies are built on the territory of Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park, established on the basis of the Decree of the President of Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev. The complex SOCAR Polymer includes a plant for production of high density polyethylene with an annual capacity of 120 thousand tonnes and polypropylene production plant with a capacity of 180 thousand tonnes per year.