Azerbaijani president visits Khankendi and Khojaly to oversee, inaugurate key development projects

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited Khankendi and the Khojaly district to inaugurate major projects and review ongoing restoration efforts, marking another milestone in the region’s reconstruction and development, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

Inauguration of Bulud Hotel in Khankendi

President Ilham Aliyev attended the official opening of the Bulud Hotel following an extensive renovation and restoration process. Head of the President's Administrative Services Department, Ramin Guluzade, briefed the head of state on the completed work.

The five-story hotel, covering 5,325 square meters, features 45 rooms capable of accommodating 91 guests. The facility includes modern dining areas such as a lobby lounge, a café, and both indoor and outdoor restaurants. The hotel’s reopening has also created 50 new jobs, contributing to the region’s economic revitalization.

Visit to Khankendi garment factory

The President also visited the Khankendi garment factory, a joint Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan venture aimed at strengthening economic and investment cooperation between the two countries. Officials briefed him on the factory’s operations and future plans.

Established over an area of 1.2 hectares with a total investment of 11 million manats—5.5 million of which have already been invested—the factory operates through joint industrial collaboration, utilizing locally sourced cotton raw materials. Once fully operational, it will include a fabric weaving production area.

The factory, which has already employed 300 trained professionals in its initial phase, is set to create a total of 800 jobs, prioritizing employment for citizens returning to the recently liberated territories. Since beginning operations, it has produced nearly 50,000 sports shirts, with plans to manufacture 924,000 shirts this year and up to 5 million knitted products annually for export.

The factory was officially inaugurated via video link during the COP29 event in Baku last November, with Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan in attendance.

Groundbreaking ceremony for Victory Park

President Aliyev also participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Victory Park in Khankendi, a major urban development initiative. Elchin Yusubov, Special Representative of the President in the city of Khankendi and the Aghdara and Khojaly districts, provided details on the project’s scope.

The park will be developed over a 12.9-hectare area, with demolition work currently underway. The first phase, covering 8.3 hectares, has already been cleared, with 279,416 cubic meters of demolition waste removed. The second phase, spanning 4.6 hectares, will undergo similar work.

Environmental preservation remains a priority, with inspections conducted in coordination with relevant organizations. A total of 262 trees of various species have been identified for conservation, while an additional 300 trees from 21 different species will be planted in the park. Planning work is actively progressing.

President Ilham Aliyev officially laid the foundation stone for the Victory Park, reaffirming Azerbaijan’s commitment to revitalizing Khankendi.

Visit to Ballija village in Khojaly 

Moreover, President Aliyev travelled to the village of Ballija in the Khojaly district to assess the ongoing restoration of individual houses and infrastructure. He also met with residents who had recently relocated to the village, underscoring the Azerbaijani government’s efforts to facilitate the return of displaced citizens and restore normalcy to the region.

By Vugar Khalilov