Bakery No 1 of “Gilan Holding” Limited Liability Company has been opened in the Khatai district of Baku.

The opening ceremony was attended by President Ilham Aliyev.

President Ilham Aliyev is confidently and successfully continuing the strategy towards socioeconomic development initiated by great leader Heydar Aliyev. Thanks to this strategy the country has achieved rapid development in all areas. Along with the oil sector of the economy, non-oil industries are also going through a period of sustainable development. As a result of the policies pursued by President Ilham Aliyev and aimed at ensuring food security, the country has made great strides in meeting domestic demand in many areas. Today, Azerbaijan can meet its needs for meat and dairy products, vegetable oils, sugar and other basic food commodities by 95 per cent.

President Ilham Aliyev has also set the goal of fully meeting the needs of the country for grain by means of local production.

In line with this objective and in order to develop grain farming, substantial work has been carried out to establish large farms.

According to foreign experts, food security indicators in Azerbaijan have dramatically improved in the past 10 years.

Agricultural development and food security of the population have been identified as one of the main directions in the development of the "Azerbaijan 2020: vision for the future" concept.

Attaching special importance to the development of the non-oil sector, President Ilham Aliyev pays special attention to the activities of business entities in ensuring food security. As one of the main directions of economic policy of the state, the focus has been on the full support for the private sector, the creation of favorable conditions for its further expansion and the application of a variety of mechanisms and incentives in this area. The loans provided by the state and the work carried out by the National Fund on Entrepreneurship Support also provide extensive support for the development of private enterprise.

The economic policy implemented in Azerbaijan is centered on the human factor. In line with this policy, special attention is paid to the provision of the population with quality and safe food products. Without a doubt, one of the most important areas is the production of quality bread and bakery products. Along with other spheres, special attention has been paid to the development of the baking industry in the country in recent years. In accordance with the instructions of the President, the most sophisticated technologies and equipment are used in this area. The application of modern and advanced technology helps reduce costs, improve quality and produce a wide assortment of goods. To this end, the National Fund on Entrepreneurship Support has granted a soft loan of 38.1 million manats to build 25 bakeries worth a total of 108.2 million manats with a production capacity of 721 tons per day and to fit them with state-of-the-art technology and equipment. A total of 18 bakeries with a production capacity of nearly 638 tons per day have already been commissioned. They are based on modern technology and fitted with equipment manufactured in Turkey, Germany, the Czech Republic and other countries. The launch of such large and technologically advanced bakeries in Baku and Sumgayit based has made it possible to provide 70-75 per cent of consumers in these cities with high-quality bread and bread products of various assortments.

While touring bakery No. 1, President Ilham Aliyev was informed that the total area of the enterprise, constructed at the level of the most advanced standards and located in the Ahmadli settlement in the Khatai district, is almost 3 hectares. To implement the projects worth a total of 48.7 million manats, the National Fund on Entrepreneurship Support granted a soft loan of 10 million manats. The construction of the bakery began in 2012 and was carried out at a high level.

President Ilham Aliyev launched the bakery.

The commissioning of such large enterprises of national importance is, above all, an important step towards providing Azerbaijani citizens with quality food products. The establishment of this bakery is also a clear demonstration of the attention being paid in the country to the development of the private sector. To ensure food security and meet the needs of the population for high-quality bread products, the bakery has been built on the basis of the latest German technology.

It was noted that the enterprise operates five lines for bread production, packing lines, as well as a storage and transportation system with automatic distribution of raw materials. It produces bread and baked goods of nearly 50 denominations. There are plans to expand the range of products in the future. The production process at the bakery, which produces 168 tons of baked goods per day, is fully automated. Special vehicles deliver flour to the bakery and offload it into seven warehouses with a capacity of 40 tons. After passing through metal detectors, the flour is supplied to weighing stations. In accordance with the recipes, the flour is then automatically offloaded into dough tanks and kneaded with a mixer. All dough tanks at the bakery are equipped with special chips. Automatic weight control is used in the production process. Depending on the type of bread being baked, the yeasting period, temperature and humidity are set automatically.

The indicators of each type of bread vary. The baking process is carried out in high-quality ovens meeting European standards. The bread baking process can be watched through special windows on the oven. Each oven is equipped with a video counter. After baking, the bread goes through a cooling stage. Depending on the type of bread, it is cooled on a special cooling line for 60-180 minutes and packed either in whole or in a sliced form. This increases the product life to 48 hours.

Packaged products are placed in boxes and sent to the sales warehouse.

Used boxes are automatically washed and dried and then redirected to the production line. It was noted that the water used in the process is filtered in several stages. Water, flour, salt, sugar, yeast and other ingredients are tested in specialized laboratories established within the enterprise and only then cleared for use. In addition, a control system is used at every stage of production. This creates conditions for producing high-quality bread and baked products in compliance with hygiene standards.

It was noted that the electronic monitoring and quality assurance system used in the bread baking lines can detect and immediately withdraw the bread of inappropriate standard at various stages of production. All packed products indicate a production date, an expiration date and a batch number. The use of modern technology helps to reduce energy and production costs.

President Ilham Aliyev reviewed samples of products made by "Gilan Holding" enterprises, as well as bread and baked goods produced at bakery No 1.

It was noted that the products of the company would be put up for sale under the brand name of "Number One". To deliver products to customers in Baku and suburban settlements, 30 three-ton special vehicles have been purchased. The office building, the canteen and the ancillary facilities built here are provided with all conditions for workers. The bakery will operate in three shifts and employ about 420 jobs.