As part of a visit to Lankaran, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended a ceremony to mark the supply of drinking water to the city

The President reviewed the stands reflecting the master plan of the project on the reconstruction of the water supply and sewage systems of Lankaran city.

The chairman of the "Azersu" Open Joint Stock Company, Gorkhmaz Huseynov, informed President Ilham Aliyev that the old water supply and sewage systems of Lankaran had been built in the 1960-70s. Drinking water was supplied to the city from the Khanbulanchay water reservoir. Only 15 per cent of the 68,000 population of Lankaran and adjacent villages were provided with drinking water in a centralized manner. Drinking water was supplied to private homes continuously and to apartment buildings on a schedule of one to two hours a day. The rest of the population met their needs on an individual basis using water from wells. The main intercity water distribution lines have become unusable. The city had only 28 km of sewage lines. Wastewater from other areas ran down through open channels into the sea without being treated.

It was brought to the President’s attention that a project had been prepared in accordance with the instructions of the President and in an effort to resolve these problems. The project on the reconstruction of water supply and sanitation systems of Lankaran city has been designed with a view to future development up to 2035 and is intended to improve water and sanitation services provided to 82,000 residents of Lankaran city, the villages of Shilavar, Digah, Veladi, Sutamurdov and Goyshaban. In the future, there are also plans to supply drinking water from this source to the villages of Germetuk, Shuruk, Bala Shuruk, Kuvanil, Tutapeshta, Luvasar and Sapnakaran – all located along the trunk pipeline. Overall, the project will benefit 100,000 people. The city will receive 348 liters of water per second, which will fully meet the needs of its residents.

It was noted that the project uses the Khanbulanchay water reservoir as a source of drinking water for the city of Lankaran and surrounding villages. A water intake installation with sand filters with a capacity of 30,000 cubic meters per day has been established. In order to ensure uninterrupted supply of drinking water to the city of Lankaran, a water reservoir with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters has been constructed and a 11.6-km trunk line laid into the city.

The President was informed that work on a 160-km stretch of the 233-km water distribution network to be built in Lankaran had been completed and 10,000 out of 15,000 subscribers connected to the new network. A total of 3,000 of them have been provided with smart-card meters. Of 197 km of sewage lines to be built according to the project, a 20-km stretch has been laid. The construction of a sewage micro-tunnel 9.4 km in length is continuing. The waste water generated in the city will be sent to the treatment plant with a capacity of 40,000 cubic meters per day, which will be built in the future.

It was indicated that the government-funded project had begun in October 2011 and would be completed in 2014. In the future, there are plans to supply drinking water from the Khanbulanchay reservoir to more than 90,000 residents of Astara and 27 villages of the district.

After reviewing the project, President Ilham Aliyev launched the installation to supply drinking water to the city of Lankaran.