Azerbaijan has allocated 25.5 billion manats ($15 billion) from the state budget to rebuilding Karabakh and East Zangezur, President Ilham Aliyev said, as the government moves toward a second phase focused on investment and permanent employment.
Aliyev presented the figures in a message to participants in the Rebuild Garabagh exhibition. The full statement was published by Report and APA, and summarized in Russian by Vesti Baku.
More than 40,000 people have returned to 47 settlements, while the total number of people living, studying and working in the territories has approached 100,000, according to the president.
Roads, Power and Public Services
Aliyev said more than 300,000 hectares had been cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance. About 1,500 kilometers of roads have been built, international airports have opened in Fuzuli, Zangilan and Lachin, and railway construction is continuing.
He described the Horadiz-Aghband railway as a strategic part of the Zangezur corridor. One new reservoir has been built and five others restored, while 13 substations and 38 hydroelectric plants with a combined capacity of 307 megawatts have entered operation.
Forty educational institutions and 20 medical facilities have begun operating, along with Karabakh University in Khankendi. The government has also restored 600 hectares of forest, Aliyev said.
Second Phase Targets Jobs and Investment
The next stage of the Great Return program will emphasize private investment, permanent jobs and export-oriented production, according to the statement. The government’s stated goal is to establish Karabakh and East Zangezur as a new center of national economic growth.
The 25.5 billion-manat figure describes public spending already allocated to reconstruction. Plans for greater private investment and employment relate to the program’s next phase.