Washington, World Bank, July 30, 2019 (Khojasan Lake Clean Up & Rehabilitation)
The World Bank awarded the contract for the preparation of the Feasibility Study for the Khojasan Lake Clean Up & Rehabilitation project in Azerbaijan to the PASECO – Aim Texas – HPC Joint Venture on July 11, 2019. Subsequently, a contract was signed between the Joint Venture and the World Bank, with PASECO as the lead partner in the Joint Venture.
Consequently, the consulting team scheduled a visit to Baku, Azerbaijan, on July 30, 2019, to assess the location of Khojasan Lake, where the Clean Up & Rehabilitation project is to take place. Moreover, a project kick-off meeting was conducted at the World Bank’s Baku office, which saw the participation of the World Bank project team, along with international and local experts from the consultant’s team.
Project Area
The study area is located in northern part of Yasamal valley, extending towards the meridian. The shores of the lake constitute Old Caspian deposits. On the western shore the Shubani ridge crop out. This stratum consists of clay shale embedded with white volcanic ash-sand and underlain by erinaceous clay with thin interlayers of sandstone and layers of productive strata sand. The northern-western ending of the lake constitutes of top layers of the productive strata, expressed with brown clay embedded with a 2-m thick sand layer.
The area has an important facility that creates increase effect on the daily dynamic population of the area, which is international land transport terminal is located north-east corner of Khojasan municipal area. A metro station (Land Transport Terminal to Mimar Ajami Purple line) north of the area is also under construction and is planned to be in service next year by Metropolitan Administration of Azerbaijan. City by-pass road coming from whole-sale and retail business districts of Sadaraq is also a third source that affects to increase of daily dynamic population in project area. In a long term projection, the north part of Khojasan municipal area seems to be a regional public transport hub for daily movements of general public who lives in this area, and people travel from north neighborhoods to central districts of Greater Baku through metro station as it will be an important public transport hub and attractive to the retail businesses. Municipality reports that the land costs around the metro station construction are already increased almost four (4) fold. This potential will also increase the current population growth more than two (2) fold. However, this rapid increase can continue only first five years within the operation of metro station, then it will steer with the regular growth rate. Nevertheless, completion of this project will create an additional boost effect on daily dynamic population of the Khojasan municipal area.
The Project Area
The land use Category in Khojasan municipal area and surroundings can be typically agreed as Category ‘’Mixed Urban or Built-up’’ land. Urban or Built-up Land is comprised of areas of intensive use with much of the land covered by structures. Transportation, power, and communications facilities, and areas such as those occupied by mills, small shops, rarely located industrial and commercial complexes, and institutions are mixed with urban areas. As development progresses, land having less intensive or nonconforming use are located in the Built-up areas and will generally be included in this category.
