BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 11
By Chingiz Safarli - Trend:
The Khachinchay reservoir in Azerbaijan’s liberated Aghdam district, is being restored, head of the Regional Department for Mechanical Irrigation Hafiz Azimzade said in an interview to AzTV channel, Trend reports.
According to Azimzade, the reservoir, located in the territories that were occupied by Armenia for nearly 30 years [before their liberation in the 2020 second Karabakh war], is in poor condition due to the lack of appropriate maintenance.
"The reservoir built in 1964 is 940 meters long and has a capacity of 23 million cubic meters. Before the occupation, it played an important role in the irrigation of 8,000 hectares of land, as well as in the water supply of Aghdam city. This year, repair work will be carried out at the reservoir," he noted.
Besides, according to the department’s head, de-mining work on the territory has been completed, and specialists have prepared design estimates for the project of work on the reservoir.
"It’s envisaged to conduct respective tender. Repair and restoration work will be carried out at the dam itself, as well as repair of a 30-kilometer canal," he further said.
Azimzade added that as a result of the restoration work, the potential for the functioning of this facility will increase.
"Now the reservoir isn’t used. Due to lack of maintenance, its capacity has decreased from 23 million cubic meters to 12-13 million cubic meters. Upon completion of the repair work, it will be possible to irrigate more than 2,000 hectares of land,” Azimzade pointed out.
“In addition, there are 327 sub-artesian wells on the department's balance sheet. 12 of which have been fully restored and commissioned," he concluded.