Azerbaijan’s ICT Ministry to develop Business Incubation Center selection rules
By Nigar Orujova
The Azerbaijani ICT Ministry will develop new set of rules in the near future for selecting participants in the High-Tech Park's Business Incubation Center, the park's Deputy Director General, Jabbar Musayev, said.
The Business Incubation Center of the High-Tech Park was officially inaugurated in Baku in December. Receipt of the ICT projects will start shortly.
The incubation center with a total area of about 2,000 square meters and the central office of the park are located on the third floor of the "AF Business House" in Baku.
The business incubation center's participants will be provided with computer equipment and internet access. If necessary, the center will be ready to provide the necessary support for project initiators, as well.
Only promising projects can claim to be developed in the incubation center. Once the project reaches the desired stage of development, the next step will be shifting them to the High-Tech Park.
The ICT Ministry is also developing rules for High-Tech Park's activities, Musayev said.
The document, which will be developed soon, will specify rules for application of contenders with ready projects, the conditions of their selection, etc.
The High-Tech Park, which is under construction, will cover 50 hectares area in the Pirallahi district of Baku. Work is currently underway to build the park, construct the necessary infrastructure, study pertinent international experience, and address other organizational issues.
With the beginning of the park's activities, the ICT spheres will expand and the creation of modern research facilities and development of new information technologies will be provided.
The park will play an important role in the sustainable development of economy and competitiveness.
The new facility will be an area with the necessary infrastructure, logistics and governing entities for conducting research in ICT, telecommunications and space use, energy efficiency, and the development of new and high technologies.
Residents and companies operating in the park will be exempt from the 18 percent VAT on imported infrastructural and technological goods and services. The park participants will also be exempt from tax and customs duty for seven years.