Azerbaijan, Baku, April 15 / Trend H. Valiyev /
The preparatory work on the transfer of the monumental building on Fizuli Street (former Basin) will be completed by April 18, Bresser Eurasia BV company head Leon Sweegers said at a press conference in Baku.
He added that the transfer of the building has two purposes. First and foremost, this is the preservation of a historically significant monument and second, the expansion of the road.
"We will move the largest building in the company's history," he said. "This will be a record index for us. The weight of the building reaches 18,000 tons. This week everything will be fully prepared to begin the work. A technological process envisages raising the building by a few millimetres."
The move will be captured on video. One can see how the building is moving from one place to another via Time-Laps photography.
"It is impossible to tell you exactly how many days will be required to move the building," he said. "According to the usual practice, the process may take about five days."
The company's future plans include opening a representative office in Azerbaijan. This will allow the Azerbaijani specialists to understand Bresser Eurasia BV's experience in this field. The company also plans to implement a number of large projects. This testifies to the fact that Bresser Eurasia BV will operate in Azerbaijan for many years.
"One of the most promising projects which is still under discussion, is the temporary raising of the building to construct a parking area beneath it," he said. "This is quite an interesting project which aims to solve the problem of traffic jams in Baku. Then the building will be moved back to its original location. This project is currently being discussed with the Azerbaijani Union of Architects. The cooperation document is planned to be signed on April 19 when the work will be defined."
Bresser Eurasia BV founder Herman Bresser said that the company has 30 years of experience in the building transfer.
"We have realised many projects in Western Europe," Bresser said.
Bresser added that the preparatory process is the most difficult and requires precise calculations on the implementation of relocation.
He stressed that this week will be marked by the opening of the trading house of two European cities - Lommer (Belgium) and Bergeijk (Netherlands) in Baku. The opening ceremony is to be held in Icherisheher in Baku on April 17, during the official visit of mayors Peter Vanvelthoven and Driek Van De Vondervoort (he is also a representative of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands) to Azerbaijan.
The city of Lommer is one of the developed cities in Belgium and recognised as a city of energy. This is produced from wind, sun and water. The city of Bergeijk leads in the field of technology. The head offices of such well-known companies as Phillips and ISM are based there. ISM is a global provider of chips and ensures more than 90 per cent of the world production.
The business development in the region will be discussed during the visit.
Sweegers stressed that one of the important issues to be discussed during the visit is the alternative energy development and transfer of technologies to Azerbaijan.
"The Belgian city of Lommer is famous in Europe for its technological development," Sweegers said. "Companies planning to create business in this city undertake to provide themselves with energy."
The cooperation prospects with Azerbaijan in all these spheres including other areas of the economy and culture will be discussed in June 2013.