On September 7, 2023, a regular meeting of the Working Group on Urban Planning of the Interdepartmental Center operating under the Coordination Headquarters established for the centralized resolution of issues in the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation was held in the city of Kalbajar. The event was attended by Namig Hummatov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Masim Mammadov, special representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Lachyn region, part of the East Zangezur economic region, Nusrat Suleymanov, head of the secretariat of the Interdepartmental Center and representatives of the bodies represented in the Working Group on urban planning issues.

At the meeting, chaired by the First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture Namig Hummatov, detailed information was provided on urban planning activities and design works carried out in the Kalbajar region, such issues as planning of the internal road and street network, electricity and water supply of settlements, as well as work on the restoration of other infrastructure facilities, the development of the tourism potential of the region were discussed. Noting that it is pleasant that the meetings of the working group are already held, as a rule, in our cities liberated from occupation, the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee stressed that they are being held in Kalbajar for the first time.

It was noted that the meeting played the role of a favorable platform to discuss the work done and to be performed by the relevant authorities, and to issue appropriate instructions for the timely and high-quality implementation of issues envisaged in the action plan of the “First State Program on the Great Return to Azerbaijan’s Liberated Territories”, approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev dated November 16, 2022.

It was reported at the meeting that the General Plan of the city of Kalbajar is currently at the stage of coordination with the relevant state bodies. Infrastructure of the region is being rapidly updated in accordance with the development concept based on instructions of the country's leadership. In the current year, head of the State laid foundation of the first residential settlement in Kalbajar, a secondary school building for 960 students, as well as Zar, Zallar and Yanshag villages of the region. Along with the design of the above mentioned, a hotel complex and a water production plant are being built in Istisu settlement.

According to the current plan, 7 more residential settlements will be designed in the Kalbajar region in 2023, and 4 residential settlements in 2024. In total, 15 settlements will be restored by 2026: 1 city, 1 settlement, 13 villages. At the same time, it was noted that in the lands liberated from occupation, the process of demining residential areas is continuing at an accelerated pace. So, for 8 months of 2023, out of an area of about 1105 hectares on the lands of settlements in the region, 653 hectares were cleared of mines. As for infrastructure issues, it was noted that 18.87 km of road and street network with a total length of 27.08 km are currently being designed in the direction of construction of the road network of settlements in the city of Kalbajar.

At the same time, by 2026, approximately 2,000 individual residential houses and 1,500 apartments - a total of 3,500 houses - are expected to be built and put into operation in Kalbajar region. In 2024, at the initial stage, it is planned to resettle more than 5,000 people into houses that will be built in the city of Kalbajar, and about 8,000 people into villages and towns, for a total of about 13,000 people.

After the information on the work done so far in Kalbajar was presented at the meeting, relevant instructions were given during the discussions on issues that are planned to be considered in the coming period. Then representatives of the institutions as part of the Working Group on Urban Planning visited the first residential settlement under construction in Kalbajar.