Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva inspected progress of construction on Toganali-Kalbajar-Istisu highway

On August 21, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva reviewed the ongoing construction on the Toganali-Kalbajar-Istisu highway.

The head of state conducted the technical opening of the Murovdag tunnel, built at the 13.5th kilometer of the road and stretching 11.7 kilometers in length.

Chairman of the Board of the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads Saleh Mammadov briefed the head of state and the First Lady on the completed and ongoing work.

President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the groundbreaking ceremony of this road in August 2021.

Under the President’s instructions, one of the most important infrastructure projects implemented in the Karabakh and East Zangazur economic regions is the 82-kilometer-long Toganali-Kalbajar-Istisu highway. The 56-kilometer section of the road covers Toganali-Kalbajar, while the 26-kilometer section stretches from Kalbajar to Istisu.

The Murovdag mountain range begins at the 13.5th kilometer of the highway. Thus, the most significant part of the road passes through this range, where elevations rise from 1,700 to 3,250 meters. To ensure safe winter operation, it was deemed appropriate to build a tunnel under the Murovdag range.

The Murovdag tunnel is one of the longest road tunnels in the world. In terms of length, it ranks 18th globally, 5th in Europe, and 1st among CIS countries. The tunnel will feature four lanes – two for each direction. Excavation works, as well as construction of 38 cross-passages connecting the right and left sections, have already been completed. In addition to the Murovdag tunnel, four other tunnels with a total length of 2,636 meters are also under construction as part of the project. Major construction works, including excavation, arch-concreting and other technical operations, have largely been finalized in these tunnels.

Overall, the Toganali-Kalbajar-Istisu highway project is 87 percent complete.

Starting from the village of Toganali in Goygol district, the road passes through the liberated city of Kalbajar and extends to the famous Istisu resort area. It will ensure convenient and safe transport links not only with the district center but also with settlements across the region, contributing to the development of agriculture and tourism.