Revival of the liberated lands: President of Azerbaijan launches strategic projects

The visit of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva to Ganja and Kalbajar was multifaceted, covering several key areas of the country's development: industrialization, sports and tourism infrastructure, energy, as well as the process of returning former internally displaced persons to the liberated territories, writes the newspaper "Caspian".

The groundbreaking of the "Azerbasalt" basalt products manufacturing plant is a step towards forming a new high-tech materials industry in Azerbaijan, which is characterized by high heat resistance, durability, and environmental friendliness. Due to these properties, basalt fiber is widely used in high-tech fields such as aviation, rocket engineering, defense industry, and automotive manufacturing. The enterprise will operate based on Swedish and Turkish technologies. High-quality basalt mined from the "Chaykend" deposit in the Goygol region will be used as the main raw material. It is expected that at the first stage of the project, 200 people will be provided with permanent jobs.

Sport as an infrastructure of trust

The Ganja city stadium, which is completing reconstruction for the CIS Countries Games, symbolizes not only sporting but also social renewal of the region. It is an investment in mass sports and youth health, as well as an important image-building step: holding major international competitions in the regions secures Azerbaijan's status as a sports hub in the post-Soviet space.

The spectator capacity of the stadium, which will be built according to UEFA Category 4 standards, will be 15,343 seats.

Memory and identity

The memorial complex being erected at the site of the missile strike on Ganja will become a symbol of historical memory, a space where the collective trauma of war transitions into a cultural code.

The parallel work on memorial objects and a peace treaty with Armenia emphasizes: Azerbaijan seeks to build the future without erasing the memory of the past.

Tourism and quality of life

The "Hajikend" recreation complex illustrates how the state creates not only production facilities in the regions but also conditions for domestic and inbound tourism. The Caucasus mountains are turning into a competitive tourism product, which simultaneously supports employment and forms a positive image of Azerbaijan abroad. The "Hajikend" complex, designed to accommodate 452 guests simultaneously, will consist of 133 rooms, 19 single-story standard cottages, and 10 two-story VIP cottages.

Green energy is a priority

The opening of new small hydroelectric power stations in the Kalbajar region ("Ashagy Veng", "Nadirkhanly" and "Chaykend") is part of the concept of green zones in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. The production of clean energy reduces the load on gas resources, reduces CO₂ emissions, and forms long-term competitive advantages for the country in the era of energy transition.

Return to native land

The most emotional accent of the trip was the meetings with residents of the restored villages in the Aghdara and Kalbajar regions. The footage of these meetings is not only a symbol of the "Iron Fist" as a guarantee of security but also evidence that the state is capable of implementing the complex task of repatriating former displaced persons, creating a full-fledged social infrastructure for them.

The combination of projects - from industry to memorials, from stadiums to green energy - forms a unified strategy: integration of regions into the modern economy, strengthening the social fabric of society, and forming a sustainable development model.