Karabakh's grand renaissance: Smart village project nearing completion
By Ayya Lmahamad
Smart city (and smart village) is a phrase everyone hears about a lot. Nowadays it is not just a concept or a dream of the future. Today, many smart cities are already active and expanding rapidly.
The main goal of a smart city is to optimize city functions and promote economic growth while also improving the quality of life for citizens by using smart technologies and data analysis.
With the liberation of Azerbaijani territories from Armenian occupation, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on measures to create a “green energy” zone there.
The signed decree envisaged the allocation of $1.3 million from the Presidential Reserve Fund to attract a specialized international consulting company to develop an appropriate concept and master plan on the creation of a "green energy" zone on Azerbaijan's liberated territories.
On April 28, the president laid the foundation for the "smart village" project covering the villages of Agaly I, II and III of the Zangilan region.
And now, Azerbaijani Agriculture Deputy Minister Ilhama Gadimova has said that the work on the creation of the first “smart village” in Agaly village of Azerbaijan’s Zangilan region is already under completion.
She added that the resettlement of the region’s natives in the village may begin this summer.
Project’s concept
A first “smart village” project, which covers Zangilan’s Agaly I, II, III villages, is planned to be created as part of the National Action Plan for 2020-2022.
The project will be implemented mainly on five components - housing sector, production sector, social services, smart agriculture, and alternative energy.
Initially, 200 individual houses are planned to be constructed with the use of innovative building materials. In addition, engineering communications and heating systems in the houses will also be created on the basis of smart technologies.
Moreover, modern schools, kindergartens, clinics, and electronic control centers will be built in these villages, and tourism infrastructure will be formed.
All residential houses, social facilities, administrative and catering buildings, processing and production of agricultural products will be provided with alternative energy sources.
Business trainings
Earlier, business training was organized within the framework of the “smart village” project.
The residents of Agaly village will be supported in creating micro-business as part of the project.
At the initial stage, 22 residents of Zangilan will be involved in the self-employment program. The training participants will be provided with the appropriate equipment according to their fields of activity.
Representatives of the Agency for Small and Medium Businesses Development and the Agency for Agrarian Reforms have met with residents and identified their future areas of activities, which included the repair of vehicles, household appliances, construction, hairdressing services, production of flour products, trade, and others.
Cooperation with foreign companies
Representatives of foreign companies from Turkey, China, Italy and Israel are taking part in this project.
Last year, Turkish specialists have voiced their readiness to participate in the alternative energy projects in liberated lands.
At the same time, the Huawei-Azerbaijan general manager has stressed the company’s readiness to present state-of-the-art technologies in Karabakh and further participate in the development of smart villages.
Italy and Israel are implementing a joint project to turn the liberated Zangilan region into a smart city. An Israeli company is building a dairy farm, where with the use of Israeli technology it will be possible to make dairy products, mainly milk.
The county’s newly-liberated territories will be first where the “smart city” concept - that has long been on the agenda in Azerbaijan – will be implemented.
In this first post-war year, Azerbaijan showed to the whole world that it is capable to do what other countries, emerged from the war, could not. Just a couple of months after the end of hostilities, Azerbaijan started to bring life back to the destroyed regions.
Work in liberated Karabakh continues. In 2022, new facilities will be laid and new projects will be launched.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
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