A BIG, CLEAN CITY

In the period of Azerbaijan's independence its capital has been built up and extended within its limits to such an extent that it is particularly stressed in the name of the last master plan for the city's development that we are already talking about "Greater Baku". At the same time, the investors are concentrating on the centre of Baku, which continues to remain the most desirable titbit for the construction companies. Although, in theory it would be just as profitable and what is most important, beneficial to the city itself, for its current residents and for future generations, to build on thebrownfield sites left vacant by the elimination or transfer of industrial enterprises.

Incidentally, building on these sites and precisely reclaiming the land, providing them with greenery and facilities, would not only be a realistic way of making Baku a more environmentally friendly and attractive city, but would also help in tackling the shortage of good-quality, accessible housing. This would also serve as a good example for other towns and cities in the country.

President Ilham Aliyev has focussed his attention on this issue as well. In his speech at the Cabinet of Ministers' session devoted to the socio-economic results for the first nine months of 2014, the head of state recommended that the municipal and district executive authorities should make available for construction either former industrial sites, which are currently unfit for development or sites needing environmental measures to improve them.

When the designs for the new master plan for construction work in the city and the adjacent territories came out, the process of chaotically erecting absurd new buildings abated somewhat. But, taking into account the country's stable economic development, new buildings will continue to be needed for entrepreneurial economic activity for many years to come. But in allocating sites for new housing estates or business and shopping developments, the executive authorities will have to pay attention to yet another vital aspect, namely the impact on the city's environment.

The fact that air pollution is increasing in Baku is clear to every resident without any kind of research into it. The situation is already so serious that strict warnings have repeatedly been uttered by the head of state who has scathingly criticised the felling of trees in the capital, and given precise instructions regarding the environmental standards that imported motor vehicles must meet,and so forth.

"The cleaning up of contaminated sites, the planting of trees, the building of rubbish recycling plants, the implementation of water purification projects and the provision of sewerage disposal facilities have made considerable positive changes to thesituation over the last few years," I. Aliyev noted at the last session of the Cabinet of Ministers. The president touched upon the need for building on brownfield sites and cleaning them up.The most obvious and positive example of this trend for business people is the transformation of the site in the capital formerly nicknamed the Black City owing to its polluted nature, into the  "White City" large housing and business development.

"In their time, business peoplewho came from abroad to work in Azerbaijan's petroleum industry received big profits, billions in profits.But what did they leave us with? The Black City. They left us an environmental disaster. Today independent Azerbaijan is eliminating the consequences of this environmental disaster. The "White City" will become one of the best town-planning projects, not only in the Southern Caucasus or in the wider region, but also on a world scale," the head of state stressed. We would like to remind you that the laying of the foundation-stone for this project, which was affirmed bythe Instruction of President Ilham Aliyev, took place on 24 December 2011; the transfer of the old petroleum, machine-building and other industrial enterprises from these sites is envisaged, as well as the clean-up of oil wastes on the site.

This means that construction work on brownfield sites has essentially started already and is being encouraged in every possible way. It is sufficient to note that the new office buildings of the Central Bank, SOCAR [State Oil Company of Azerbaijan], the State Oil Fund, the joint-stock watercompany Azersu and others are being built on the site which was formerly regarded purely as a location for industrial enterprises, which means it was regarded as ecologically unsuitable for normal development. Moreover, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, which is considered to be one of the architectural masterpieces of modern times, was built on the site of the Lieutenant Shmidt plant. "The site was also an environmental disaster. When I went there and saw it for myself, I was horrified, wondering how it was possible to organise any kind of production in those conditions. Everything had been destroyed. And now, some people have even forgotten that the Lieutenant Shmidt plant was located on that site," the president said.

Another striking example is the allocation of the site which oncehousedthe slate-producing combine and the light-bulb factory, where the Olympic village is currently under construction.

In short, there are sufficient sites in the capital of which construction companies can take advantage, not only for the benefit of "their own pockets", but to make the city more attractive and, what is most important, to improve Baku's environment. "If one firm or another wishes to erect a block of flats, then measures should also be undertaken there to improve the natural environment. People should be allocated new housing as well. I think that the time when open spaces were provided for housing construction is a thing of the past," President I. Aliyev stressed in particular.

Yes, these sites do need to have a bit more time, effort and money put into them, since the land needs to be reclaimed, greenery needs to be planted, communications installed and so forth. Therefore, the executive authorities could examine the possibility of making concessions to construction firms allocated such sites. What is more, in theory the best solution for these sites would be the construction of municipal housing estates, which would ultimately really resolve the housing problem faced by middle-income families. The more of these estates there are in the capital, the less residents will be concerned about being moving out of the old quarters…

Yet another factor is the rapid ongoing development of tourism, the building of modern hotels is also realistically needed by today's Azerbaijan. But there is still a shortage of budget, two- and three-star hotels and boarding houses in the city and its environs. It would be possible to use some of the brownfield sites for the erection of such developments, with entrepreneurs offered concessionary conditions.

Thus, the main thing is to find ways of attracting investors on a local level; there is enough global interest. For many yearsnow Azerbaijan has remained an actively developing country in the region; moreover even the world economic crisis of the last few years has not managed to put an end to this positive trend. In the first nine months of 2014, the country's GDP has grown by 2.5 per cent, while the non-oil sector has increased by 6 per cent.

Inflation remains on a very low level of only 1.5 per cent, while the incomes of the population have grown by 5.4 per cent. The volume of investments in the economy is growing every year as well. In the first three quarters of this year the sum invested was 19bn dollars, of which 11bn dollars were internal investments.

"Anextremely positive investment climate exists in Azerbaijan; local and foreign investors trust in our country and believe in our country's future," President Ilham Aliyev stressed at the Cabinet of Ministers' session. In short, all the conditions exist for implementing the president's recommendations on a state level. It just remains for the executive authorities to work out favourable propositions to attract investors. And they should think everything out so that the future Baku not only becomes one of the most beautiful cities in the region, but also the most desirable to reside in from an environmental point of view.

AT FIRST HAND

"If an entrepreneur or company wants to build a block of flats or offices, then environmental measures need to be undertaken as well. People should also be resettled in new housing. I think that the time when wide open spaces are allocated for housing construction is a thing of the past." 

Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan