Azerbaijan lays foundation for textile cluster, launches hydropower plant PHOTO

Azerbaijan on September 26 launched two projects in the country’s liberated territories and Mingachevir, including a textile production facility and a small hydropower plant, with President Ilham Aliyev taking part in both ceremonies.

An online ceremony marking the foundation-laying of the production facility under the “Textile Cluster” project by Textile Horizon LLC was held at the Mingachevir Industrial Park, with President Aliyev participating from the Baku Congress Centre, Calber.Az reports per state media.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Nasib Islamzadah, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Azarshakar LLC, and Muzaffar Razakov, Chairman of Global Textile Group, pressed the button to mark the online laying of the facility’s foundation.

The founders of Textile Horizon LLC, which was granted resident status in the Mingachevir Industrial Park last year, are Azarshakar LLC, Global Textile LLC and the Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Investment Fund.

The project envisages the production of cotton, yarn, fabric and finished textile products, starting with cotton cultivation. The enterprise will benefit from all tax and customs incentives provided to residents of the  Industrial Park.

The facility covers 11.2 hectares and is designed to produce 16,000 tons of yarn, 11,000 tons of thread, 7,300 tons of dyed fabric and 11 million shirts annually. The products are planned for both export and the domestic market.

An online opening ceremony for the Minkand Small Hydropower Plant in Lachin district was also held at the Baku Congress Centre on September 26, with Aliyev taking part.

President Aliyev and Yıldırım Demirören, President of Türkiye's Demirören Holding, pressed the button to inaugurate the station online.

Under the leadership of the head of state, large-scale measures are being implemented to realise the green energy potential of Azerbaijan’s liberated territories. In this regard, the project for the restoration, construction and long-term operation of small hydropower plants in Kalbajar and Lachin is of particular importance.

The Minkand Small Hydropower Plant, which is part of the project, has an installed capacity of 3.2 MW and is expected to generate 11.8 million kWh of electricity annually. The plant was built using Austrian and Italian technology.

The project for the restoration, construction and long-term operation of small hydropower plants in Kalbajar and Lachin is being implemented as part of the First State Program for the Great Return and based on public-private partnership principles.

With a total value of 53.2 million manat ($31.2 million), the project includes the Minkand, Galaca-1, Galaca-2, Malibay and Tartar-1 small hydropower plants. The other plants are scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2026.

The plants have an operational life of 30 years. The project’s total installed capacity is 12.9 MW, while expected annual electricity generation stands at 44.1 million kWh.Mingachevir

The project has been granted the incentives and exemptions available to liberated territories. A preferential loan was also provided by the Azerbaijan Business Development Fund under the Ministry of Economy.

Demirören Holding and the Azerbaijan Business Development Fund hold stakes in Green Karabakh Energy LLC, the company operating the project.

By Sabina Mammadli