BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 20
Trend:
The most modern technologies should be applied in Baku and this includes as a key condition the compliance of the transport vehicles with the highest international standards, President Ilham Aliyev said while receiving the Chairman of the Board of Baku Transport Agency Vusal Karimli, Trend reports.
"The Baku Transport Agency completed last year with good results. I personally examined part of the work done. I believe that last year was a successful one for the agency. However, we cannot be complacent with the successes achieved because a lot still remains to be done. Hundreds of new buses were delivered to our city over the past five years. All of them are produced by leading companies of the world. This is our conscious choice because the most modern technologies should be applied in Baku. This includes as a key condition the compliance of the transport vehicles with the highest international standards. I should also note that the first foreign buses delivered to Baku five years ago had not even been launched in the countries of their origin. In other words, the most modern buses are being delivered. Of course, this is a very important step aimed at significantly improving the city transport. On my instructions, fairly large funds are allocated from the state budget every year and 300 buses are imported through the Baku Transport Agency on average on an annual basis. Thus, we are gradually upgrading the bus fleet. At the same time, I recommend that private companies also look at their bus fleet again. I see that some companies are taking important steps in this direction," the head of state said.
President Ilham Aliyev noted that the importation of buses into Azerbaijan is a part of the work, of course.
"The entire transport infrastructure must meet modern requirements, and comprehensive measures are being taken in this direction. Azerbaijan ranks 27th in the world in terms of the road infrastructure. This is reflected in the report of the Davos Forum. Other measures related to city transport are and will continue to be taken. Of course, the upgrade of the city transport is an important issue for any major city. I am glad that the work done in the city of Baku in recent years is comprehensive and covers all areas related to transport," the head of state said.
It is very good that there is coordination among all types of transport now, President Ilham Aliyev noted.
"I believe that at the next stage, taxi, metro and bus services should be more closely connected with each other. The main thing is to reduce traffic jams. Of course, we cannot limit ourselves only to building new roads and interchanges. However, if major road infrastructure projects had not been implemented in Baku over the past 10-15 years, the city transport would be unable to move due to traffic jams now. This is true. We simply need to remember the picture of 10 years ago, so that everyone sees and knows this. It is possible to say that our main transport arteries were completely gridlocked. Although the main road connecting the city with the airport was considered a four-lane, it was actually two-lane. There were several roundabouts along this road. Today there is not a single roundabout there, so there is every opportunity for a very convenient travel from the airport to the city. And not only that. The construction of another road to the airport is also of great importance. There was no road from Zykh to the airport at all. At that time, we took the initiative and did this, which solved many issues. At the same time, I can say that the work done in the city of Baku in recent years, the bridges and road junctions built probably have no equal," the head of state said.