Having played a crucial role in Azerbaijan’s formation and development, Heydar Aliyev left an indelible mark in history of Azerbaijan. "Azerbaijan & Heydar Aliyev" – is a special project of Trend News Agency, dedicated to the 100-th anniversary of the national leader, which will cover key events of Heydar Aliyev's work in the years of him leading Azerbaijan.
April 17, 1970. The commissioning of the Ulduz (Star) metro station took place in Baku. Azerbaijan's National leader Heydar Aliyev attended the commissioning ceremony for the first time as the head of Azerbaijan.
The first launch pad for the Baku Metro was finished in February 1968, the same month that the Khatai metro station was opened for service. Despite having only six stations, the metro significantly facilitated the people's movement, becoming an important event in the life of the capital residents.
At the time, drilling operations were carried out at the Narimanov-Neftchilar part of the metro line, which has a length of 6.3 kilometers. The construction of the metro was within direct competence and under the control of the relevant central departments of the USSR. Although the work on increasing the length of underground lines continued, there were people who tried to slow down this process, referring to the complex hydrogeological conditions of Baku, the difficulties of metro construction, and financial issues. However, under the direct supervision of Heydar Aliyev, who became the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan in 1969, the construction work became even more extensive.
On April 17, 1970, many people gathered on the square in a large industrial district of Baku. The vast majority of them were employees of the nearby Baku Electric Machine-Building Plant, the Baku Electro Stamp Plant, the Baku Worsted Wool Combine, and other enterprises. They were the ones who were most excited about the opening of the new station because they finally had an opportunity to easily get to and from work and save time.
First Secretary of the Baku City Committee of the party Abdulla Kadirov, Head of the Baku Tunnel Construction Department Alovsat Abdulragimov, and Head of the Baku Metro Lutfali Nuriyev delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. After the speech of the head of the Baku metro, Heydar Aliyev said that the completion of the construction of the Ulduz station was a wonderful gift from metro builders to the workers of Baku.
In his speech, Heydar Aliyev addressed the metro builders, saying that along with the fulfillment of the task given, the metro builders also enriched the experience of metro construction with a range of new methods and techniques, adding that at the time, those techniques were then successfully implemented during metro construction in other cities.
"About 150 enterprises from all the union republics supplied equipment, tools, and cable products. The Ministry of Transport Construction, the Main Tunnel Metro Construction Department, and fraternal collectives of metro builders in Moscow, Leningrad [now St. Petersburg], and Kyiv have provided and keep providing great assistance to the construction of the metro," he said in his speech.
Heydar Aliyev expressed confidence that metro builders would effectively complete construction and installation work with high quality, enhance the level of underground construction equipment, and speed up drilling in response to the existing challenges.
After the opening ceremony, Heydar Aliyev cut a red ribbon to mark the opening of the station. Then, at 15:45, the train, driven by Rafail Aliyev and Ramiz Mammadov, set off in the direction of Narimanov station.
The great leader Heydar Aliyev has special merits in the construction of the Baku metro during his years of leadership of Azerbaijan, his work as First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers in Moscow, and his period of activity in subsequent years as President of independent Azerbaijan. In 2003, 22.3 kilometers of metro lines totaling 31.5 kilometers, including 14 metro stations, were constructed with the direct support of the great leader.
