ReportageThe war between Azerbaijan and Armenia has broken something in the bilateral relationship between Paris and Baku. The tricolor companies fear to be excluded from the site of reconstruction of Azerbaijan.
An army of bulldozers scrapes the ground and flattens the 3 km of the future runway at Fizouli airport, in the heart of Karabakh. All around, a huge battlefield riddled with mines and unexploded ordnance. Stigma of the conflict during which Azerbaijan reconquered part of its territory at the expense of the Armenian forces in the fall of 2020.
“Thanks to the wise political leadership of President Aliev, begins Farhan Guliyev, director of the company AzerAeroNavigation, this airport will be completed by the end of August. It will serve [la ville de] Choucha, the pearl of Karabakh. ” A sprint for prestige, before the demining marathon allows civilians to repopulate the towns in the area (almost all completely destroyed) in several years.
“It will be the country’s second largest airport after Baku”, continues the director, who is careful not to reveal the investment. A hundred million euros, according to information from the World. Sum that will mainly fill the pockets of Turkish groups, which have won the contracts “By mutual agreement”, without tendering. It is a juicy contract passed under the nose of Thales, yet by far the best positioned in Azerbaijan, since the French group has been equipping Baku airport.
The war broke something in the bilateral relationship with France. Ankara offered crucial military and diplomatic support to Baku, while Paris leaned towards Yerevan. Today, the large French groups fear being excluded from the gigantic reconstruction site of Karabakh, where, rich in its petrodollars, Baku is injecting 1.1 billion euros this year.
“Twenty years of efforts reduced to nothing”
“For new contracts, it’s no, even if the French offer is better”, laments Teyba Gouliyeva, president of the Franco-Azerbaijani chamber of commerce and industry. “It’s not just an emotional reaction, it’s a matter of trust. Will the French still be there if the political situation changes? This is unfortunate, because the potential for cooperation between the two countries is very high, because the French technological offer corresponds to the Azerbaijani demand more than the Italian, German or American offer. One has the feeling that twenty years of efforts have been reduced to nothing. “
The Thales-Alstom tandem is in principle in a good position to equip the Azerbaijani rail network (signaling and electrification). A market of at least 500 million dollars (about 425 billion euros), according to a source close to the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. Alstom has already won major contracts in the country (50 locomotives) and delivered three metro trainsets. But the government risks, if the climate does not improve, to opt for the two competing offers, Czech and Spanish.
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