Having saved its occupied lands, Azerbaijan continues to revive the region with new transportation lines. With the Zengilan Airport, which was opened with the participation of President Erdogan, the Zangezur corridor is one step closer. So, what is the significance of this corridor that reaches Nakhchivan?
The lands liberated by Azerbaijan from occupation are becoming more and more alive day by day thanks to the new transportation facilities built.
With the implementation of the tripartite declaration signed between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia after the Karabakh War, the region is now in a process of economic development by getting out of the war environment thanks to the new transportation lines.
All economy and transportation lines, which have been closed for nearly 30 years due to the Karabakh conflict, are planned to be opened. In this process, the transportation line, which the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev referred to as the “Zangezur Corridor” many times, comes to the fore.
Thanks to this corridor, a connection will be established between Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
Zangilan Airport opened
The area in the eastern part of the Zangezur Corridor has been occupied by Armenia for 44 years. Zangilan Airport, which will now be the second airport in the region after Fuzuli Airport, was opened in the lands liberated by Azerbaijan from occupation.
The airport will start service after the ceremony, which will be attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Also, President Erdogan is the first head of state to land at Zangilan International Airport.
Its platform has a capacity of 8 aircraft
Zangilan Airport, whose foundation was laid by President Aliyev on April 26, 2021, has become able to accept planes in 1.5 years in accordance with the highest international standards. The first technical flight to the airport with the country’s largest passenger plane was made on September 9.
The runway of the airport is 3,000 meters long and 60 meters wide. Its terminal has the capacity to serve 200 passengers per hour. All wide-body aircraft, including large cargo aircraft, will be able to land and take off easily at Zangilan Airport. The platform of the airport was designed to accept 8 aircraft.
Turkish companies were also in the construction process
Turkish companies also took part in the construction of the airport, which is equipped with automatic systems and has a control tower in compliance with international civil aviation and transportation standards.
With the decree signed by Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov on October 14, it was decided to give Zangilan Airport the status of “international airport” and to send information to relevant international organizations on this issue. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has included the airport in the list of international airports with the ZZE code.
The Azerbaijani government is also planning to build an airport in Lachin.
What is the significance of the Zangezur corridor?
Although Zangezur was once a historical Azerbaijani territory inhabited by the Muslim Turkish population, it was annexed to Armenia by the Soviet Union in the 1920s and is still within the borders of Armenia today. With Zangezur given to Armenia, Azerbaijan lost its land connection with Nakhchivan.
The lack of direct land connection between Nakhchivan and the western parts of Azerbaijan has always caused difficulties for the Baku administration. Article 9 of the ceasefire signed with the defeat of Armenia in the 44-day war was about the transportation corridors to be established in the region.
“Obstacles will be removed in the region’s economic and transportation connections. Armenia will provide transport communication between the regions in the west of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in order to organize the movement of citizens, vehicles and freight vehicles in both directions.
Control of transport communications will also be provided by the institutions of the Russian Border Security Service. In case of agreement of the parties, networks of transport communications will be built between the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the western regions of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan continues intensively the projects that it started rapidly in its own territory for the realization of the Zangezur corridor, where road and railway transportation will be made.
The distance between Ankara and Baku is shortening
With the implementation of the Zangezur corridor, the distance between Azerbaijan and Turkey is shortening. The railway line starting from Ankara goes to Kars and then to Nakhchivan. This is where the Zangezur corridor comes into play.
The 43-kilometer distance between Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan is called the Zangezur corridor.
With the opening of the corridor, the railway to be built is expected to be shorter than the line following the Kars, Tbilisi, Kars route.
When all these projects are realized, a new transportation connection will be provided between Turkey and Azerbaijan. At the same time, uninterrupted land and railway communication will be provided between Turkey and Russia via Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan’s Karabakh operation
The clashes that took place around Tovuz as a result of the Armenian attack soon gave way to war on September 27, 2020, and Azerbaijan launched an operation to liberate its occupied lands.
The operation initiated by Azerbaijan lasted 44 days and Armenia suffered a great defeat.
The ceasefire agreement was signed on 10 November.
Azerbaijan liberated its lands in Nagorno-Karabakh from occupation after almost 30 years and signed a ceasefire agreement on November 10, 2020, after 44 days of conflict.
Source: TRT
