Head of state: Project to reconstruct 10 reservoirs is underway

Without water supply, the development of agriculture is impossible, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said today at a meeting dedicated to agricultural issues, Report informs.

The head of state stressed that many important projects were executed in this field as well:

"Reservoirs – Takhtakorpu and Shamkirchay are the largest reservoirs as well as the Goytepe reservoir, and other reservoirs. Currently, a reconstruction project covering 10 reservoirs is underway. Immediately after Garabagh and East Zangezur were liberated from occupation, we began restoring the reservoirs there, and the number of Kondalanchay reservoirs has already reached three. The Khachinchay, followed by the Sugovushan, Sarsang, and Zabukhchay reservoirs were reconstructed; they did not exist during Soviet times. Now, the construction of the Bargushad and Hakari reservoirs is underway. Twenty-five percent of our water resources are formed in Garabagh and East Zangezur. It will be possible to utilize them efficiently and supply water to both that region and other regions. Because back when the Sarsang and Sugovushan reservoirs were created at the initiative of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, the goal was to supply water to 7–8 districts located outside the borders of Garabagh. Following the occupation, the Armenians cut off our water. Now, one canal is operational. The construction of the other canal continues, and thus, water will be provided to 8 districts, covering approximately 100,000 hectares of land."

As for the Shirvan canal, Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan has begun reconstructing it as a concrete-lined canal, and it will probably be commissioned next year and this will also supply water to a large volume of land areas:

"We have begun the restoration and reconstruction of the Garabagh canal. In the past, these were called the Upper Shirvan and Upper Garabagh canals. However, since there are no Lower Shirvan or Lower Garabagh canals, we decided to simply name them the Shirvan and Garabagh canals. In other words, after these canals become operational, water will be provided to perhaps 200,000–300,000 hectares of land. However, a modern network must be established on these lands, and this is envisaged in the State Program. Modern irrigation systems are currently applied on 130,000 hectares, which has also been made possible through state support. The goal is to increase this to 300,000 hectares. If modern irrigation systems are introduced across 300,000 hectares, just imagine how much productivity can increase."