ABOVE ALL DAMS

Over the past 10 years, the problem of food security in Azerbaijan was raised by President Ilham Aliyev as one of the primary objectives of the government and on condition that the country's own agricultural potential will be used to the maximum to this end and the most favourable conditions will be created for the growth of agricultural output.

Of course, it would be unthinkable to do so without improving the reclamation and irrigation systems that fell almost into full decline after the collapse of the Soviet Union. We must say that the foundation of the industry, like many other sectors of the economy, was laid by Heydar Aliyev. It was he who directed the first foreign investment into this sector and started the reconstruction of the complex at the level of international standards. There was an acute need for the reconstruction of the Samur-Absheron irrigation system.

In 2007, the construction of the Taxtakorpu reservoir and power station, as well as of the Valvalacay-Taxtakorpu and Taxtakorpu-Ceyranbatan canals began. This project, ordered by JSC Irrigation and Water Management, was implemented by the general contractor Azerkorpu, which is now known as an economic entity called the Euro-Asian Construction Corporation EVRASCON. In just a few years in a difficult terrain stretching from the Valvalacay River to the Ceyranbatan Lake, a great deal of construction work was conducted.

Quite recently, on 28 September, the opening of the Taxtakorpu reservoir and the 25-megawatt Taxtakorpu hydroelectric power station built with SOFAR money was held.

As a result of the work done on the Samur-Absheron irrigation system, water supplies to about 150,000 hectares of land in the northern parts of the region will improve and 31,000 hectares of irrigated land will be included in the turnover. This project is also a great contribution to the ecological balance in the northern zone of the country. Overall, the project for the reconstruction of the Samur-Abseron irrigation system will be implemented in four phases over 14 years.

In an interview with R+, the chairman of the Board of the European-Asian Construction Corporation EVRASCON - the general contractor of construction work - and the republic's distinguished engineer Afandi Ismiyev spoke about progress and future plans.

- This is not the first time that EVRASCON has been tasked with projects of this scale, and the corporation is implementing them at a high level. What amount of work has been done this time as part of such an important mega-project?

- First of all, I want to note that the implementation of the project for the reconstruction of the Samur-Absheron irrigation system and similar major and strategic projects is the most obvious indicator of the country's economic power, and we are proud to be the contractor of such mega-projects.

JSC Azerkorpu is the general contractor for the construction of the Taxtakorpu-Ceyranbatan canal, and the work itself was implemented by the consortium of Azerkorpu, Cengiz Insaat and Korpu-Bina Tikinti.

The area of the Taxtakorpu reservoir is 8.71 square kilometres, the total capacity of this facility is 270m cubic metres and the usable volume of water in the lake is 238.4m cubic metres. This hydraulic structure is an earthen dam with a clay core. Its width at the bottom is 754 metres, and height - 142.5 metres, i.e. it is one of the highest earthen dams not only in the region but also in Europe. 37.5m cubic metres of excavations, 74,300 cubic metres of concrete work and 7,800 tons of reinforcement work have already been carried out at the construction site.

- The hydroelectric power station built as part of the project definitely plays an important role in providing electricity to the northern regions of Azerbaijan. What purposes other than electricity generation will the water collected in the reservoir be used for?

- As for hydroelectric power station, I should note that three hydroelectric units with a total capacity of 25 megawatts have been installed here. A pool controlling the flow was created at the station, and the water is fed here through a special drive. Three of the four valves in the basin are designed for supplying water to the turbine to generate electricity. To clear the water from the basin into the reservoir, a spillway was built. Thus, if there is a need in the future to repair the Taxtakorpu-Ceyranbatan canal or carry out other work, the excess water in the pool will be channelled into the reservoir through the spillway. Equipment delivered mainly from Germany, the Czech Republic and other countries is installed at the hydroelectric power station and the open distribution system. The construction and installation work was carried out mainly by local experts. The 110-kilovolt open distribution system is perfect. Equipment of the German company Siemens has been installed here. From the open switchgear, electricity is fed to the 110-kilovolt first Xacmaz aerial circuit and the 110-kilovolt fourth Siyazan aerial circuit through 110- kilovolt overhead transmission lines.

I'd like to note that in addition to power generation, the water collected at the Taxtakorpu reservoir is also used for drinking, industrial and irrigation purposes. From the Taxtakorpu dam, water arrives in the Ceyranbatan Lake by the Taxtakorpu-Ceyranbatan canal. After the 1.3-kilometre stretch of the Taxtakorpu-Ceyranbatan canal, water at a distance of 5.1 km is supplied by pressure conduits. The length of the Taxtakorpu-Ceyranbatan canal is 110 kilometres, depth - 4 metres and the bottom width - 2.1 metres.

Like the Valvalacay-Taxtakorpu canal, the Taxtakorpu-Ceyranbatan canal passes through areas with a very difficult terrain. The originality of these canals is that the water taken from the Samur-Absheron irrigation system moves along the mountains to the Ceyranbatan Lake only in the gravity flow mode. This means average annual savings of 167m kilowatt hours of electricity or 13-15m dollars. Some 238 hydraulic structures have been built on the Taxtakorpu-Ceyranbatan canal, and it also makes it possible to supply irrigation water to Baku villages by the Abseron canal reconstructed as part of the socioeconomic development of Baku and suburban settlements.

- What other projects are being implemented by JSC EVRASCON in Azerbaijan and outside the country?

- There are many projects. For example, I can note the reconstruction of the Absheron main canal with a total length of 73 kilometres originating from the end of the Taxtakorpu-Ceyranbatan canal designed to provide irrigation water to the Abseron Peninsula. We are also completing the construction of the Tovuzcay reservoir. Work is in progress on major projects to build bridges over the Kura River, in Salyan and on the Alat-Astara highway, in Shirvan on the Haciqabul-Horadiz road, which also connects the village of Pirallahi to the coastline of the Absheron Peninsula.

Of course, among the important projects we should note the construction of a new complex of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in the village of Alat. The company is also actively involved in the construction of the Baku metro.

As far as overseas projects are concerned, for example, we can note the overhaul of the Kiev-Kovel-Yagodin highway, the construction of a bridge over the Zdvizh River in Ukraine, the construction of two roads bypassing Kyzylorda and Shymkend and four railroad bridges on the Zhezkazgan-Beyneu road in Kazakhstan. Also this year, a bridge with a complex structure was built and put into operation in the centre of the city of Kazan in the Russian Federation.

Of course, we care about all of the projects because the customers' confidence in us shows the high quality of our work, and this is the greatest reward for our labour.