Baku’s ‘Microdistrict No. 1’ is next on the list of the city’s historical districts that have been scheduled for demolition.
Buildings known as
khrushchyovki
are the main target of the recent decision signed into effect by Prime Minister Artur Rasizade.
Khrushchyovki
are low-cost, three- to five-story style apartment buildings that were built in the early 1960s to solve an urgent housing crisis; they are named after the then First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev.
The buildings will be replaced by high-rise apartment complexes. According to Rasizade, the buildings are no longer reliable.
The work was entrusted to the Ministry of Emergency since the ministry is the main initiator of the project. The ministry has also demanded from the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture, State Committee for Property Issues and Baku Executive Authority in 15 days and submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers.
Deputy Chair of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Construction Safety Control Department Elkhan Asadov told APA News Agency that the high-rises will be 20-stories high. He also said that those currently inhabiting the buildings scheduled for demolition will be compensated and provided with flats within the newly-built apartment complexes.
Asadov claims apartments in the new buildings will be 10 percent larger than current flats, and that residents will compensated for associated rent costs during the period of construction.
Asadov was further quoted as saying that the plan is a “pilot project…and if it runs satisfactorily, it will be extended to other neighborhoods in Baku”.
The reconstruction and demolition of entire Baku neighborhoods have become common events in the city: Sovetski region in Baku was one of the last regions to be demolished under the pretext of failing and old architecture.
In total, 34 buildings will be demolished. It is estimated that a total of 1729 families will be affected by the project.
Asadov claims that project will be completed within three years.
