President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev addressed the participants of the 6th Azerbaijan International Restoration, Reconstruction and Development of Garabagh Exhibition – “Rebuild Garabagh.” I sincerely wecome you on the occasion of the opening of the 6th Azerbaijan International Restoration, Reconstruction and Development of Garabagh Exhibition – “Rebuild Garabagh” and wish all participants every success. The Victory achieved in the 44-day Patriotic War laid the foundation for a new phase of construction and development in Garabagh and East Zangazur. Under the First State Program on the Great Return, our towns and villages are being rebuilt, with the safe return of our compatriots to their native lands being ensured.
Azerbaijan is carrying out this work using its own financial resources. To date, 25.5 billion manats have been allocated from the state budget for restoration and reconstruction. To ensure the safe implementation of the Great Return, more than 300,000 hectares of land have been cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance, and over 40,000 people have returned to 47 residential settlements.
Currently, nearly 100,000 people live, study and work in the liberated territories. The transport infrastructure developed in Garabagh and East Zangazur connects residential settlements with one another and integrates them into the country’s unified economic space. To date, nearly 1,500 kilometers of roads have been constructed, and the 11.7-kilometer Murovdag tunnel stands as an important example of engineering in complex mountainous terrain.
Fuzuli, Zangilan and Lachin international airports have been commissioned, while railway construction continues. As an essential part of the Zangezur corridor, the Horadiz–Aghband railway is of strategic importance for expanding Azerbaijan’s international transport and logistics links. Energy and water supply infrastructure is also being developed to serve new residential settlements and production facilities.
In the region, one new reservoir has been built and five have been restored, while 13 substations and 38 hydroelectric power plants with a total capacity of 307 megawatts have been commissioned. Developing Garabagh and East Zangazur as a “green energy zone” is one of the key priorities in building this infrastructure. Infrastructure development is accompanied by the provision of modern social services in residential settlements.
Forty educational institutions and 20 healthcare facilities, as well as Garabagh University in Khankendi, have commenced operations in the region. The coverage of government, banking, postal and telecommunications services is also expanding. The administrative centers built and commissioned in Lachin, Zangilan, Fuzuli and Aghdam enable the provision of social security, employment and other services to residents under one roof.
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