Azerbaijan resettles 118 families in Hasanriz village under Great Return program PHOTO

Twenty-nine more families displaced during the first Karabakh war have returned to Hasanriz village in Aghdara district, bringing the total number of resettled families there to 118, comprising 671 people, under Azerbaijan’s “Great Return” program.

The newly resettled families  received keys to their newly built homes upon arrival, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

Representatives of the Special Representative of the President of Azerbaijan, the Service for Restoration, Construction and Management, and the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons attended the key handover ceremony. 

At this stage, 29 families (115 people) who had previously been living in dormitories, sanatoriums, and administrative buildings across the country have returned to the settlement. 

The resettled families are among those displaced during the first Karabakh war and are now gradually returning to their homes in territories liberated in 2020. 

Launched in 2022, the “Great Return” program seeks to resettle around 140,000 internally displaced persons by 2026. The plan foresees the reconstruction of 100 settlements with modern infrastructure, including housing, schools, hospitals, and utility networks. Between 2020 and 2023, the government allocated over $4.6 billion to the initiative, with total investment expected to reach $17.6 billion by 2030.

The second phase of the program, running from 2026 to 2040, will focus on the comprehensive restoration and integration of all liberated territories into Azerbaijan’s social and economic framework.

By Sabina Mammadli