Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.15 / Trend U. Ismaylova /
Some 50 percent of construction work on the commissioning of the Shahdag Summer and Winter Tourist Complex in the Azerbaijani Gusar region in the first phase has been completed, the Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfas Garayev said yesterday at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on the socio-economic development in 2010 and upcoming challenges in 2011, chaired by the President Ilham Aliyev, AzerTAj state news agency reported.
"So far work of laying communal lines and road infrastructure of the complex, which is intended to serve 10,000 tourists a day, has been already done," the minister said.
According to him, the Shahdag tourist complex is constructed by leading companies from Austria, Sweden, Turkey, USA, Italy and the UAE.
It is expected to conduct testing of the first pilot ski downhill in March 2011, and it is expected to commission four more ski downhill by the winter season for the period 2011-2012.
The minister mentioned the construction of hotel complexes in Baku by the well-known private companies, as well as the expansion of tourist potential of the Gabala region among the numerous activities to promote tourism. Development of hotel networks, which meet international standards, creates a need for staff training in this sphere, Garayev said.