A meeting of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture with a group of members of Azerbaijan Union of Architects took place on 15 January 2019. The meeting was dedicated to the expansion of cooperation between the Committee and the Union, the national problems of architecture and urban planning as well as the discussion of other relevant issues.

Samir Nuriyev, Chairman of the State Committee of Urban Planning and Architecture, welcomed the guests and emphasized the importance of such discussions from the perspective of public governance as well as the significance of such meetings for professional and public activity.

The Committee Chairman said that national urban planning activity is consistently reviewed by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev, and that the head of the state has designated the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture to ensure the planned and systemic implementation of this priority duty in compliance with the country's urban planning legislation. He provided information on the recent improvement of public governance in the area of urban planning and the projects implemented by the Committee under the instructions of the country's leadership.

The sustainable development and management of cities is based on the major area planning document known as the Master Plan. Therefore, the Committee is paying special attention to the preparation of master plans based on the requirements of the country’s legislation and the cutting-edge global experience, he stressed. He reported that, in 2018, the Committee had hired the reputable international Boston Consulting Group to ensure proper preparation of the Baku City Master Plan in compliance with modern standards. Phase 1 of the two-phase Baku City Master Plan development process has been completed to produce the Baku city development concept with development priorities.

Meanwhile, Phase 1 includes the preparation of an appropriate project proposal and a call for an open tender to choose an internationally recognized company. Samir Nuriyev highly appreciated the participation of the Chairman of Azerbaijan Union of Architects Elbay Gasymzade in the Tender Commission. The bidding outcomes will be announced in March 2019. Following that, Phase 2 of the preparation of the Baku City Master Plan will be launched.

While, in the past year, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Sumgait Master Plan, the preparation of draft master plans for the cities of Tovuz and Guba was completed, and the development of the Master Plan for the city of Bilasuvar is nearing its completion. At the same time, the preparation of draft master plans for the cities of Dashkesan, Shabran, Tartar, Saatli, Sabirabad, and Kurdamir was initiated.

Samir Nuriyev also provided information regarding the assessment of compliance with legal requirements of the new draft urban development projects submitted to the Committee for consideration by business people. Having touched on the Committee’s activity in this area as well as in the area of ensuring the state urban development supervision, the Chairman emphasized that designers bear the primary responsibility for the area planning documents and defining architectural solutions. While the quality of design activity must increase, strict control should be set in place to ensure the fulfillment of all the norms and requirements of effective legislation, he emphasized.

In his speech, Elbay Gasimzade, Chairman of Azerbaijan Union of Architects, thanked the Committee leadership for the organization of the meeting with architects and appreciated the meeting as the first step toward the two bodies’ fruitful cooperation in the future. Comprising the country’s leading architects, the Union of Architects of Azerbaijan will provide the Committee with comprehensive support and utilize the potential of its members to facilitate the provision of sustainable development in the country's capital city as well as other cities according to the state policy of Azerbaijan.

During the meeting, broad discussions focused on various issues relating to the activity of architects and the exchange of views took place with regard to the potential opportunities of the two bodies’ future cooperation in the area of urban development and architecture.