TODAY.AZ / Society

Ways to free congested Baku

21 October 2015 [11:09] - TODAY.AZ

/By AzerNews/

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan, a country where the demographic situation is developing in a positive direction, has grown by 73,000 people since the beginning of this year. In the first eight months, the country’s population has reached 9.666 million and statistics show that the urban population of the young, but rapidly developing state is growing consistently.

Currently, the density of the population in Azerbaijan is 112 people per square kilometer. This most populated country of the Southern Caucasus region expects to grow annually by 1.1 percent to reach 10.2 million people in 2020.

This permanent growth is resulting in a process of urbanization and a significant increase in population density in the capital city. The constant influx of the rural population to Baku is a permanently expanding issue.

Baku’s growth is generating new problems, from traffic to production and sparking discussions over whether Baku’s administrative buildings should be moved from the capital to the regions.

Member of Parliament Aydin Mirzazade appreciates the recent establishment of the Mingachevir State University as a great event, noting that some universities and military lyceums could be transferred to Mingachevir city in the northwest of the country.

Today, Baku is a center for education and thousands of students come to the capital starting from September 15 each year. Many universities are located in the city center, which creates tensions in traffic.

Universities operating in the center of the capital are expected to be moved out of the city soon according to the Plan of Regional Development of Larger Baku.

It is expected that large educational centers like the State Economics University, University of Languages, Baku Slavic University and the Pedagogical University will be moved to Sumgayit city and Absheron peninsula.

The endless process of urbanization in the world, including Azerbaijan, has its economic reasons. The main activity of the rural population is agriculture; this area of activity is characterized by low profitability and is not attractive, particularly to the younger generations.

This makes Baku, its suburbs, as well as other large cities such as Ganja and Sumgayit, more attractive.

Excessive urbanization leads to a burden on the infrastructure of the city. Experts believe that the actual population of Baku is much higher than the capital’s infrastructure can accommodate. This suggests that Baku is not ready for future urbanization.

In this situation, it is a high time to divert production and educational complexes to the regions of the country, which would only help to develop the rest of the country.

Today, the regions of Azerbaijan are attracting more foreigners who prefer to buy property there. Over a half of the 1812 properties bought by foreigners in Azerbaijan last year were located in the regions if Azerbaijan, outside of major cities.

The most attractive regions for foreign property owners in Azerbaijan are in the south, as well as the Guba-Khachmaz and Zagatala-Balakan regions.

Economy expert Oqtay Haqverdiyev believes that many of the industrial sites have been already removed from the capital.

“However, there are two oil refinery plants in the city. They are in the plan to be removed from Baku when a petrochemical complex in Alat will be created. It is very necessary from an environmental point of view. In addition, the capital is developing from year to year, and these two plants in the middle of the city spoil the view,” he told AzerNews.

He went on to add that there are other plants in the area adjacent to Baku that should also be taken away.

“Today, there is not so many large plants left in Baku, but this policy in itself is very correct – all industrial enterprises should be removed from the capital. In the long term it is necessary to take away all the universities from Baku, and there are plans to do so,” he added.

This will directly influence the development of the regions, the economist said. “New jobs will be created. People who want to come to Baku will stay in the regions. Infrastructure will also be created around the plants: roads, electricity, and water supply. This will play a huge role for the development of the regions.

Haqverdiyev said that foreign investors would be attracted to the regions if they were exempt from taxes for several years.

“When an entrepreneur builds a plant in Shamakhi, he should be free of taxes for at least 5 years while he will work and make back his investment. After that, taxes can be applied to his business. If we work on this principle, foreign investors will be attracted by the opportunities, but otherwise they will not be interested, because it is very expensive,” the economist said.

He suggested using the experience of China, for example, that created economic zones free of taxes where goods for export were produced.

“Foreigners came here readily as they knew that they would not pay taxes, and created jobs. However, they came after the Chinese had created the infrastructure in these areas, because infrastructure is itself expensive. This is the only way to attract foreigners,” he stressed.

By moving industry from the capital to the regions and creating infrastructure here, Azerbaijan may soon attract more entrepreneurs, which will also positively impact development of the capital city.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/society/144543.html

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