The Greater Baku Regional Development Plan – 2030 aims to develop the Absheron Peninsula (east coast of Azerbaijan) so that the region would become a global centre of trade in different economies, to improve the environment, to deliver high quality of lifestyle and to create integrated relationships between the region and the rest of the country. Apart from the plans for the development of industry, business environment and energy, the implementation of the project is expected to develop mobility as a consequence to rail transport development.
The rapid growth and the extension of Baku urban area has determined decision makers to formulate a plan for the development of the region which requires the extension of the infrastructure. The elaboration of the new Plan is guided by the strategy on supporting the sustainable development of the urban environment.
The Absheron Peninsula, with three important cities, is the most dynamic Azerbaijani region in terms of economic, social and industrial activities and draws the attention of investors, especially in the industrial segment supported by natural resources (mainly oil), economic resources and the benefits of developing industries. In order to encourage industrial development and activity development areas, the authorities plan to increase the volume of industrial production 2, 3 times focusing their plans on the manufacturing and processing of iron, the electro-technical and electronic industry and car manufacturing and components. Also, industry development opportunities are delivered by the support granted to the oil and energy industries.
In spite of a strong economic foundation and of competitive advantages, local authorities are facing serious problems of space planning, the management of urban rapid growth, infrastructure delivery and maintenance and implicitly its development in order to meet mobility challenges and the investors’ needs and to define efficient and sustainable development policies.
The Absheron Peninsula, or the greater metropolitan area of Baku capital, expands from Alat (south) to Sumgayit and Xizi region (north) with the Caspian Sea in the east. It has a population of 2.6 million people. Based on the urbanisation growth rates, the number of citizens will reach 3.6 million by 2030, challenging the authorities in all the economic, social and environmental segments.
Authorities encourage railway transport
Within the policies, the transport system is the main element for the development of the region, all economic and social sectors depending on the transport services and infrastructure. In this context, planning is aimed at ensuring the delivery of the transport services that meet mobility demands, the development of an efficient transport system being a necessity of a continuous process. Currently, the region is served by a transport network which includes road, railway and air transport (3 airports, of which one international airport in Baku), rail public transport systems (tram and metro) and the Port of Baku. At present, the authorities are carrying out the construction of the Port of Alat (the construction contract was signed in February) and the project stipulates the construction of an international port (65 km from Baku, in Alat) which is due in late 2015. The port will be built on a surface of 400 hectares, 100 ha of which will be dedicated to the international logistics centre. Regarding the freight volume, in the first phase freight volumes are expected to reach 10 million tonnes and 40,000 TEUs by 2014, in the second phase, 17 million tonnes and 150,000 TEUs and in the third phase, 21-25 million tonnes and 1 million TEUs. The port will be equipped with necessary infrastructure, including railway, delivering easy access. The Plan includes the construction of a new international airport in Alat.
“In the future, Alat will become the centre of Azerbaijan for trade, transport and logistics. Its geographical position is favourable to the main transport lines of the country that cross the region. At the moment, we are developing works for the construction of the international commercial port and we will build an oil refinery plant in Sangachal, a petrochemical centre, but also an airport”, declared the director of the Development Plan work group, Novruz Eldarli, in July.
In this region, Baku is the country’s railway hub providing efficient domestic, as well as international links. Baku is also the origin of the future line Baku-Tbilisi-Kars where construction works are underway. The commissioning of this railway will play an important role in the development of the region and of participating countries (Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia).
As part of the Regional Plan, by 2030, the Absheron Peninsula could benefit from railway connections through high-speed lines (the first line in plan will cross the peninsula on a distance of 90 km). The implementation of the project will significantly reduce road traffic and will eliminate the necessity of building the initially designed highways.
Public transport in the urban areas and between the localities of the region is currently provided by private services of bus, minibus, metro, tram and trolleybus. Even though the provision of transport services is carried out without significant problems, the authorities plan to implement projects for the development of rail transport, in both urban and suburban areas.
The most efficient public transport mode is believed to be railway transport, the metro system being the most important and efficient transport mode in Baku. To that end, the authorities decided to adopt the development plan of the metro system, currently comprising 2 lines (34.5 km) and extensions of lines will be developed by the end of the year. 5 new stations will be commissioned by 2016. Under the adopted development plan, by 2030, the network will be extended to 5 lines (119 km) with 76 stations. The authorities also want to reintroduce tram lines.
The Greater Baku Regional Development Plan will also introduce new public transport modes, especially on rails. “At the moment, it is necessary to develop new public transport modes in Baku and we are referring to the light metro and the suspended train. The region requires the development of the medium-distance rail transport service for the transport of commuters. For example, a line on the Sumgayit – Alat route could be built which will also require the construction of 5 stations (Alat, Sangachal, Lokbatan, Hyrdalan, and Sumgayit). These stations will be connected to public transport stations to encourage commuters to use public transport”, said Novruz Eldarli.
Thus, the plan includes the development and modernisation of public transport, including the development of infrastructure, so that “private motorized transport would be at a disadvantage for distances of around 20 km, a car being irrelevant as transport mode in the cities”, said Eldarli.
In order to implement the Greater Baku Regional Development Plan, preliminary estimates show costs will amount to over USD 6.3 Billion (AZN 4-5 Billion) and the final version will be adopted over the next months.
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