Road works underway in Baku within first European Games
By Nigar Orujova
The Azerbaijani Transport Ministry implements reconstruction and expansion of access and road links to the new Olympic Stadium as part of preparations to the first European Games to be held in Baku in June 2015, Deputy Transport Minister Musa Panahov said on September 10.
According to Panahov, work is underway in accordance with special plan, prepared for each Olympic complex.
Ongoing road works will provide free access to Olympic venues for athletes, visitors, and spectators.
In particular, work is ongoing to improve the road infrastructure, which will allow the passage from the Olympic Village, to the complex to ensure free access to the athletes' complexes.
According to him, new roads are being built along with the reconstruction and modernization of the existing roads.
Construction, modernization and reconstruction of all major highways in Azerbaijan is expected to be completed in 2015.
As the number of vehicles increases year-on-year, the reconstruction and expansion of roads is of vital importance.
According to Azeryolservis company, operating under the Ministry of Transport, rehabilitation and construction of roads in Azerbaijan requires some 30-35 billion manats (over $44 billion).
Some 8.3 billion manats was invested in the road and transport infrastructure of the country from internal and external sources for the past 10 years.
The Olympic stadium, which is expected to be built by late February 2015, will consist of four areas, including the two upper zones with six-storey stands, and the two bottom ones with three-storey stands, a car park with 3,500-4,000 parking spaces, as well as 68,700 seats for spectators.
Olympic Village will operate near the main facilities intended for holding the Games -- the Olympic Stadium and Water Sports Center.