President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has viewed the renovation work carried out on the section of Shafayat Mehdiyev Street from Tbilisi Avenue to Landau Street in Yasamal district, Baku.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Azerbaijan Highway State Agency Saleh Mammadov, informing President Ilham Aliyev of the work done, said:

- Welcome, dear Mr. President! The length of Shafayat Mehdiyev Street in Yasamal district is 2.4 kilometers. An area of 800 meters along this street from the intersection with Bakhtiyar Vahabzade Street to the intersection with Abdurrahim Bey Hagverdiyev Street was completely occupied by residential and non-residential facilities.

President Ilham Aliyev: This part?

Saleh Mammadov: Yes, Mr. President, this one. From the area where the cars are parked to that burning light, there were residential buildings. All of them have been resettled and compensation was paid on your instructions.

President Ilham Aliyev: Was compensation paid at the proper level?

Saleh Mammadov: Compensations were paid in full. There were no complaints. This stretch of street 800 meters in length has been completely renovated. Now a 4-lane highway 18 meters wide runs from here. Previously, cars moving along Javid Avenue had to go around Javid Park to access Tbilisi Avenue. As a result of the work carried out on the basis of your instruction on improving traffic in Baku, these vehicles will now access Tbilisi Avenue directly from Shafayat Mehdiyev Street.

President Ilham Aliyev: Was there no access before?

Saleh Mammadov: No, there wasn’t. There was only an inner road 5 meters wide. Here are the pictures of demolished houses. All these houses have been relocated with the funds allocated by you.

President Ilham Aliyev: This road was very narrow and ended here. Was there no road to this side?

Saleh Mammadov: Yes, there was only a 5-meter-wide road to access the buildings located in the neighborhood.

President Ilham Aliyev: It is a good project.

Saleh Mammadov: It has been implemented on your instruction. Traffic jams have been completely eliminated. Mr. President, when this road wasn’t there, the entire stream of cars passed in front of Elmlar Akademiyasi underground station. As you can see from these pictures, there were traffic jams here during at rush hour. From now on, there will be no stream in this part. Today it is a 4-lane road. In addition, it directly connects to Tbilisi Avenue. The result is a wonderful road system.

President Ilham Aliyev: Were proper conditions created for the people living here?

Saleh Mammadov: Yes, Mr. President, the funds they counted on were fully paid and everyone was satisfied.

President Ilham Aliyev: Could they access only these houses?

Saleh Mammadov: Only these. These were inner streets. Today, a beautiful avenue 2.4 kilometers in length has been created. In addition, Mr. President, in the city of Baku and its suburban settlements, several roads have been fully built and are ready for operation. They are provided for in the investment programs for 2019, as well as at the expense of the funds allocated by you from the budget. One of them is the Khojasan-Lokbatan road, which starts from the Sadarak shopping center and leads up to the 9.5th kilometer of the Baku-Shamakhi road, the Coca-Cola roundabout. This road is also completely ready now. Previously, it was in the condition shown in these images. Today it is a 4-lane road. We laid concrete lines in the center of the road. This 11.2-kilometer section is fully operational now. In addition, using the funds allocated from the investment program this year, we have renovated the 5.4-kilometer road leading from Bakikhanov station in Sabunchu district to Garachukhur settlement. It is fully ready for operation.

President Ilham Aliyev: Is this the previous condition?

Saleh Mammadov: Yes, this is the previous condition. We have now brought this road to this state.

President Ilham Aliyev: Was it expanded?

Saleh Mammadov: Yes, expansion has been carried out and new sidewalks and pedestrian crossings have been created. A 6-kilometer stretch of the road from Azadlig Avenue of Baku to the new bus station has been expanded. It used to be a narrow road. In order to improve traffic flow, this road was also expanded to four lanes on your instruction. Interchanges have been created here and the new bus station has been connected to the Binagadi Highway.

Mr. President, the street in Ahmadli settlement from Zigh highway to the Naples Roundabout was also two-lane. We have also made this 3.2km road 4-lane long at your direction. It is completely ready for operation.

President Ilham Aliyev: We did a good job. All streets of Baku must meet the highest standards. So make a list of all problem places so that we could renovate them both this year and next year. I am told that traffic jams often occur on the Baku-Sumgayit road.

Saleh Mammadov: Yes, there are big traffic jams there.

President Ilham Aliyev: Despite the fact that trains operate today and some people use them, there are still traffic jams. So look into this, there should be technical capacity to expand this road. Prepare a project.

Saleh Mammadov: Mr. President, we will prepare a project and submit it to you.

President Ilham Aliyev: We must expand this road. We will allocate the necessary funds. In addition, I gave you instructions on the improvement of intra-settlement roads, roads in the suburban settlements of Baku. You have submitted preliminary proposals, they will be considered, relevant instructions will be issued, investments will be allocated so that we will improve all roads in the suburban settlements of Baku. Ground roads must be paved. In the city of Baku, including its suburban settlements, there should be no ground roads left.

Saleh Mammadov: Mr. President, we will do as you instruct us. When receiving us, you gave us an order on the basis of which we proceeded to the construction of the ground road base in some settlements.

President Ilham Aliyev: I know you have started that. You first improved roads in Kurdakhani settlement. Other settlements are next in turn.

Saleh Mammadov: Pirshagi, Zabrat, then in the Khazar district, in Bina settlement...

President Ilham Aliyev: In Mardakan, Shuvalan and other settlements of the Khazar district, we will restore all roads.

Saleh Mammadov: According to your instructions, all ground roads will be asphalted in stages.