Azersu nearly completes works to restore Lachin's water supply

Azersu OJSC has already completed 95 per cent of the work on restoring the intra-city water supply network in the liberated Lachin city, the company’s Public Relations Department Head Anar Jabrailli said.

He noted that at the moment the main work on the restoration of water supply in the liberated territories continues in Shusha and Lachin cities, Caliber.Az reports.

"In Lachin, the construction of a new reservoir, pumping station and a new high-pressure main water pipeline from the water source to the city is completed. More than 95 per cent of the work on the restoration of the intra-city network has been completed, in many respects, the full water supply of Lachin is already ensured," Jabrailli said.

Work on the water supply to other liberated areas of Lachin District started in 2021. The goal is to fully provide water facilities in Lachin City.

Upon investigation of the area, it was determined that subartesian wells, pumping stations, and other hydraulic structures supplying Lachin City with drinking water, were purposefully disabled, and the pumps were dismantled. At the same time, the main waterline was deliberately destroyed in several places; a large stamp was placed at one point of the waterline.

The Azerbaijani authorities kick-started the “Great Return” program for relocating the former IDPs to their homes in the liberated territories. Hundreds of people were resettled in Agali village of Zangilan district, in Talysh village of Tartar district, and in the city of Lachin in 2022 and 2023.

Lachin, one of the largest districts in Azerbaijan spanning an area of 1,800 square kilometres, was occupied by Armenia's armed forces on May 18, 1992, connecting the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan to Armenia.

The Lachin district was the last of the three areas to be returned by Armenia to Azerbaijan as part of its obligations under the tripartite statement. The larger portion of it, except the city of Lachin and the villages of Zabukh and Sus, was returned to Azerbaijan on December 1, 2020, after 28 years of illegal Armenian occupation.