Azerbaijani, Slovak leaders break ground on new secondary school in Aghdam PHOTO

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and his Slovak counterpart Peter Pellegrini, who is on an official visit to the country, visited Bash Garvand village in the Aghdam district on July 14 to inspect ongoing construction works and lay the foundation stone of the Milan Rastislav Štefánik Secondary School, which will accommodate 840 students.

Emin Huseynov, the Azerbaijani president’s special representative for the Aghdam, Fuzuli and Khojavend districts, informed the two leaders about the progress of construction and development projects in the village, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

Situated on the right side of the Barda–Aghdam highway and railway, Bash Garvand lies 18 kilometres from the centre of Aghdam city. The settlement, which had remained under Armenian occupation for years, was liberated on November 20, 2020.

President Aliyev laid the foundation stone for the village on December 24, 2023.

Work is currently underway on social infrastructure facilities, including administrative and service buildings. Plans for the village also include a multifunctional administrative complex, a medical centre, a secondary school and kindergartens.

A road network stretching 35 kilometres is under construction, while communications, electricity, gas, drinking water and sewage systems are being installed. Renewable energy solutions are also planned as part of efforts to enhance energy efficiency.

The presidents were additionally briefed on the Milan Rastislav Štefánik Secondary School, which is to be built on a three-hectare plot.

The educational facility will contain 35 classrooms, as well as technology, military training and computer rooms, a library, and laboratories for physics, biology and chemistry. The project also includes an assembly hall, a sports hall, a canteen, and other supporting educational infrastructure.

Solar panels are planned to provide electricity for the school.

The surrounding area will feature a sports ground with a running track intended for use by both students and residents, alongside playgrounds, recreation zones and landscaped green areas.

Following the presentation, Presidents Aliyev and Pellegrini laid the foundation stone of the school.

Slovak companies are involved in the construction of Bash Garvand village, while the school is being built as a gift from Slovakia to Azerbaijan.

The two presidents also toured a newly completed house in the village.

Covering nearly 480 hectares, the village is being developed in two stages. The first phase spans more than 200 hectares and envisages the construction of 851 detached homes for 3,703 residents. The housing stock will include 170 two-room houses, 417 three-room houses, 145 four-room houses and 119 five-room houses.