Azerbaijan, Baku, 29 April / corr. Trend I. Khalilova/ The Ministry of Transport of Azerbaijan plans to sign a contract on the project of establishment of Intellectual Management of Transport in Baku in mid-May, Musa Panahov, the deputy minister of transport said on 29 April. According to Panahov, the system establishment can begin by the end of May or early June.
On 24 April 2007, a memorandum of intent was signed in Seoul with the Ministry of Transport of the South Korea, who is assisting Azerbaijan in introducing this system. The project was developed by the South Korean SK C& C consortium, who has submitted relevant recommendations to the Azerbaijani government. According to the study by the consortium, a number of traffic lights and bus-stops will be regulated. Their number has decreased due to the construction of bridges and pedestrian crossings. The establishment of the system will enable to send immediate information to the central control point about the movement of vehicles, speed, bus-stops, traffic accidents and traffic jams.
According to the preliminary estimations, the system of intellectual management of transport will be created in two stages. The first stage envisages the introduction of the system by 2008 end- starting from the centre of the city in the direction of Heydar Aliyev avenue up to the Azizbayov circle. The second stage envisages the expansion of the system all over the city. The first stage is expected to complete by the end of 2009.
The new system in Baku aims at controlling traffic from one point, the conveyance of passengers, motor transport, isolation and liquidation of traffic jams, as well as the management of parking.
The cost of project makes up $55-60ml, but earlier it was reported as $52mln. The funds are expected to be allocated from the state budget, but other sources could be considered as well.
The official exchange rate of the National Bank of Azerbaijan for 29 April is 0,8288 AZN/USD.
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