Azernews.Az

By Nigar Abbasova

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev paid a visit to the southern regions of the country on September 3. The head of state first arrived in the city of Masalli, where he laid flowers at a statue of the national leader Heydar Aliyev.

The president also inaugurated the Flag Square and Azerbaijan State Symbols Museum, the construction of which was launched in 2014 and completed in 2016. Under the presidential order, 2 million manats ($1.2 million) was allocated for construction of the museum in 2013. The Flag Square occupies an area of 1.3 hectares. The flagpole here stands 62 meters in height. Green areas were created, and ornamental trees and flowers were planted at the square. The museum features exhibits reflecting state symbols of Azerbaijan.

The president also attended the opening of “ASAN hayat” complex as part of his visit to Masalli. The president cut the ribbon symbolizing the inauguration of the complex.

Addressing the ceremony, President Aliyev said that "ASAN xidmət", operating in the country for almost four years, has managed to gain sympathy of people within a short period of time. The president mentioned that it is planned to launch construction of 4 new centers in other regions of the country next year. The head of state said that the main objective of creating such center across the country is to provide modern community services in all regions of Azerbaijan, stressing that the creation of a center in Masalli demonstrates power and policy of the country, as only a strong state is able to implement such works.

The four-story complex occupies an area of 4,246 square meters. “ASAN xidmet” center will provide 32 services of 10 public organizations for citizens.

Ilham Aliyev then attended the ceremony to launch the drinking water supply system of Masalli. The president was informed that implementation of the project on the overhaul of the city’s water supply and sewerage system was launched in 2012. President Aliyev pressed the button to launch the system.The project will provide citizens of Masalli and some other settlements with clear drinking water.

The head of the state called the project “historic”, mentioning that water was one of the serious problems for Masalli in the past. The project provided for the installation of a water purification facility in the downstream pool of Vilashchay water reservoir, and the construction of a water reservoir with the capacity of 5,000 cubic meters.

The president said that a number of infrastructural, social, industrial, and agricultural projects are currently underway in Masalli.

Moreover, certain number of projects on gas supplying are under implementation in the region. The volume of gas supplies currently stands at 80 percent in Masalli, while the figure is expected to reach 90 percent in the short run.

The head of state also spoke about the creation of an industrial zone in Masalli in an effort to support the entrepreneurial activity, to promote small and medium businesses engaged in industrial sphere, to provide sustainable development of non-oil industry as well as to open new jobs in the sphere.

Later the president inaugurated the Children’s Arts School in Masalli. The construction of the two-story school cost 3.1 million manats. There are 14 classrooms, an auditorium, a canteen, a dance room, a library, and an architectural studio here. President Aliyev listened to performance of the school’s choir troupe.

The head of state then arrived in Bilasuvar district as part of his visit to the southern regions of the country. The president first laid flowers at a statue of National Leader Heydar Aliyev in the center of the city of Bilasuvar.

President Aliyev also attended the opening of the Asgarabad-Mughan-Chayli highway after its reconstruction and repair of the 6 km-long highway. Then he viewed the Bilasuvar Central District Hospital after a major overhaul and reconstruction.

The president said that some 600 medical institutions created and reconstructed in Azerbaijan for the past 13 years, which is a great achievement in the sphere of public health. The state provided considerable volume of funds for the implementation of projects as the social sphere is of top priority for the country.

Following his visit to Bilasuvar, President Aliyev arrived in Salyan region. The head of state first laid flowers at a statue of the national leader Heydar Aliyev in the center of the city of Salyan. The president attended the opening ceremony of a new drinking water line in the city of Salyan and launched the new line, which takes water from the Shirvan-Mughan main water pipeline.

Addressing the ceremony, the president said that residents of Salyan have already been provided with clean drinking water, which is one of the main factors that influence health of people. The country has already taken serious steps to clean water coming from the Kura River. He stated that the region possesses good opportunities for the further socio-economic development, while a number of infrastructural projects are being implemented in the region.

The president attended the opening of the Museum of History and Local Lore and the opening of a new administrative building of the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) district branch as part of his visit to Salyan.

President Aliyev then attended the opening of a new bridge over Kur River which links Salyan`s Babazanan settlement with the city center. The head of state was informed about the technical indicators of the facility which is 201 metres in length, and 14.5 metres in width.

As part of his visit to Salyan district, the president attended the opening of a 21.4-km-long section (from 31st km to 54.4km) of the Alat-Astara-Iran state border highway.

President Aliyev viewed cotton fields in Salyan and met with cotton growers here. He gave relevant orders on the implementation of certain measures to develop rich traditions of cotton growing in the country.

Cotton production in the country is expected to reach the level of 300,000 tons by 2017, while crop capacity of each hectare should be increased by 30 centners. The state provides funds for the acquisition of brand-new equipment and creation of new working places in the country.

The regional development of Azerbaijan is one of the issues of top priority for the country as well as an important component of sustainable socio-economic development.

Implementation of the tasks set forth in the state programs, as well as in the orders on the additional measures concerning the socio-economic development of the regions paved way for sustainable development of non-oil sector, improvement of the quality of public services and social infrastructure in regions, further improvement of the business environment, creation of new enterprises and jobs, and poverty reduction.

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