AZE.US
More than 200 families in Baku are still waiting for apartments years after their homes were demolished under a pilot redevelopment project, according to residents who spoke to Barometr TV.
The case concerns former residents of homes near the intersection of Ceyhun Hacibeyli and Tabriz streets. Some of them say they were moved out in 2017, 2018 and 2020, after being promised new apartments and rent payments while construction was under way.
Years later, residents say many families still have neither the homes they were promised nor the rent support they expected.
“How many years have passed, and our apartments have still not been handed over,” one resident said. “More than 200 families in this building are waiting for their homes.”
Residents said some rent payments have been cut, leaving families with few options. They say they are being pushed either to move into unfinished apartments or continue living without proper housing.
One resident said families were told they would be moved into one building on June 1, after which work would begin on another building, with a possible move-in date around November 1. But according to residents, construction has stalled again.
“They told us we would be moved into this building on June 1, then work on your building would begin, and around November 1 you would move in,” one resident said. “But there is no work going on.”
In the Barometr TV segment, residents named N-turan as the company with which they said they had signed contracts. They also named Orkhan Aliyev, Adil Taghiyev and Rafael Garayev, saying people involved in the project are now shifting responsibility from one side to another.
One resident said their contract was with N-turan, which she described as being owned by Adil Taghiyev. She said Taghiyev and his son, Hasil Taghiyev, who she claimed works in the Milli Majlis, were present when homes were demolished.
“Now they ask me what their child has to do with us,” the woman said. “But you left our children and grandchildren without homes.”
Another resident questioned how a company could take on the construction of three buildings if, in his view, it did not have the resources to complete the project. He said he was not a lawyer, but raised the question of whether the case showed signs of fraud or corruption.
The residents also complained about the size and quality of the apartments they say they are being offered.
One woman said she previously had a 150-square-meter home with a yard, a garage and parking space for several cars. Now, she said, the apartment offered to her is smaller and worse than the property she lost.
“We were satisfied with our home,” she said. “I had a 150-square-meter house. Now we have not been given a home of the same size.”
Other residents said two former owners of one-room apartments were being offered a single apartment between them. According to residents, they were then advised to sell the apartment and buy housing in another district, such as Ahmadli or Gunashli.
Residents also described unfinished repairs in apartments they were shown. One woman said wallpaper had been installed on only one wall, the bathroom was incomplete and the doors were poorly fitted.
“They put wallpaper on one wall, but not on the others. The bathroom is not ready at all,” she said. “The door is like a bird’s nest. It barely holds.”
The case points to a broader problem with redevelopment projects in Baku. On paper, pilot projects are meant to replace outdated housing, improve the urban environment and provide residents with better apartments.
But when families wait for years, rent payments stop, construction remains unfinished and promises replace keys, redevelopment begins to look less like urban renewal and more like a long social crisis.
For the residents, the question is direct: who is responsible for more than 200 families who say they have been left between demolished homes, unfinished apartments and promises that have still not been fulfilled?
AZE.US