The State Committee of Urban Planning and Architecture of Azerbaijan has launched the organization of work on the preparation of the master plan of Baku, the Committee said in a statement July 17.
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) which is one of the three most reputable strategic consulting companies in the world, is being attracted to the project, to help develop the project in accordance with international standards, as well as for the purpose of use of the advanced international experience.
BCG company established in 1963, has a global network consisting of more than 90 offices in 50 countries today. BCG’s clients and partners are organizations from the private, public and non-profit sectors in all regions of the world. BCG has extensive experience in implementing projects in various areas of urban development: more than 550 projects have been implemented over the past 5 years on the topics of urban development planning and zoning, development of a comfortable urban environment, mobility of residents in cities, transformation of employment, development of infrastructure, transport and tourism, social sphere and industry clusters. The company has successfully implemented projects for such major cities as Moscow, Kiev, Beijing, Stockholm, Boston, New York etc.
The State Committee of Urban Planning and Architecture plans to organize together with BCG the process of development of the master plan of Baku in two stages.
A diagnosis of the relevance and completeness of the already developed documents of urban planning and territorial planning of the capital, first of all, the projects entitled as the “Plan for the regional development of Greater Baku” and “Plan for the use of the territory and zoning of the city of Baku” will be carried out and the concept of the development of the city of Baku will be finalized at the first stage, taking into account international practices and experience of various cities of the world. In particular, the priorities of the country’s development, the need to improve infrastructure, the requirements for the development of priority sectors will be taken into account in this work. Also, the need to clarify the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan in terms of town-planning norms and rules will be assessed at the first stage.
Along with this, the sectoral development plans of the city of Baku prepared by the relevant state agencies, which will participate in the implementation of the master plan in the future, will be studied, and the work will be carried out on integration of the plans and relevant clarifications.
The relevant project tasks and requirements will be prepared according to the results of the work done at the first stage for attraction of highly qualified foreign and local organizations and experts in urban planning and architectural planning, monument protection, engineering communications, social infrastructure, environmental issues and other areas for the purpose of finalization of the master plan of the city of Baku.
At the second stage, the State Committee together with BCG company will finalize the master plan of the capital with the involvement of reputable urban planning, architectural, engineering companies and experts on the basis of the requirements developed at the first stage.
The master plan of the city of Baku will be submitted for approval to the Cabinet of Ministers after its reconciliation of that document with the relevant state bodies and after implementation of its public discussions according to the requirements of the current legislation.
The master plan will remain valid for 20 years after its approval according to the Urban Planning Code of Azerbaijan.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva are paying special attention to the work on the development of the master plan of Baku city.
By complying with the instructions and guidelines of the country’s leadership, the State Committee of Urban Planning and Architecture is mobilizing all available resources to develop a master plan that meets the highest international standards and represents crucial significance for the systemic, sustainable development of the city of Baku, as well as is necessary for effective urban planning and regulation, comfortable living of citizens, preservation of the historical landscape and cultural heritage.
