In November 2018, residents of the housing complex at 17, Suleyman Vezirov str., Khatai district of Baku City lodged a collective petition on the attempts made to start the construction of a high-rise in the open terrain right in front of their residential complex. Specialists of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture investigated the case to discover that, in March 2018, the executive authority of Baku City initiated the approval of the construction permit for the construction of a high-rise building by “Azenne Group” LLC in this area. However, the development company did not complete the process of approval to obtain the construction permit. In this connection, the Committee sent an appeal to competent state bodies requesting them to halt the construction operations in this area until the approval of the construction permit in compliance with the effective legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The building project of “Azenne Group” LLC envisaged the development of a 22-25-story residential building by far exceeding the construction density requirements of the urban planning legislation for the area in consideration. To ensure the building project’s compliance with the requirements of national legislation, the Committee specialists held talks with the construction company and provided it with necessary recommendations. Thus far, the construction company failed to present the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture with a version of the building design to comply with the urban planning legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

However, residents of the housing complex at 17, Suleyman Vezirov str., Khatai district of Baku City presented the Committee with another collective petition on the resumption of the high-rise construction operations. Upon proper inquiry and confirmation, the Chief Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of Baku City under the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture immediately took necessary measures to stop the construction activity. Besides, to prevent this area from any illegal construction operations in the future, the appropriate information was sent to local executive authorities, the State Agency for Control over Construction Safety under the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and respective law-enforcement bodies.

In the meanwhile, the leadership of the Chief Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of Baku met with the residents to thank them for their initiative and civic duty concerning the illegal construction operations. The residents were duly informed that the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture will ensure a stringent assessment of any future construction projects implemented in this area against proper norms and requirements of the urban planning legislation with due consideration of rights and interests of people living in the neighborhood.

The State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture urges all physical persons and legal entities working in the construction sector to observe the urban planning legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Any construction activity is unlawful unless it is evidenced with the construction permit duly provided by the respective executive authority. Serious penal measures are enforced against persons violating the requirements of the effective legislation.