Baku, May 3, AZERTAC

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Azerbaijan Office has successfully concluded the "Integrated Rural Development for Internally Displaced Communities in Azerbaijan through Revitalization of Kahriz Water Supply System - 2018-2024" project, financed by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The closing ceremony, held on April 30, 2024, at the IOM's Baku head office, brought together key stakeholders to commemorate the achievements of this impactful initiative. Among the distinguished speakers were Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs – Mr. Fuad Huseynov, Ms. Youkyoung Hwang Deputy Head of the Korean Embassy in Azerbaijan, Ms. Sulim Hwang, Country Director of the KOICA Azerbaijan Office, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan – Ms. Vladanka Andreeva, and Mr. Amr Taha, Chief of IOM Azerbaijan a.i.

During the closing ceremony, Ms. Sulim Hwang, Country Director of the KOICA Azerbaijan Office, emphasized the importance of inclusive development and expressed gratitude to all partners involved in the project. She noted that this project, with a budget of USD 4,420,000, marks KOICA's second Kahriz Revitalization Project in cooperation with IOM.

Mr. Amr Taha, Chief of IOM Azerbaijan a.i., underscored the significance of partnership and cooperation in achieving sustainable development goals. He mentined that the IOM has been implementing kahriz renovation for 25 years and during this period close to 200 kahrizes was rehabilated in Azerbaijan.

Over the past six years , KOICA and IOM have collaborated closely to support the revitalization of kahriz water supply systems and promote integrated rural development in Aghdam, Aghjabadi, Barda, Ganja,Goranboy, Fuzuli, Goygol, Gazakh, Shamkir, and Jabrayil region of Azerbaijan. This partnership has yielded significant milestones, mainly including the rehabilitation of 33 kahrizes - a traditional, sustainable water supply system -, 18 water distribution infrastructures, 240+ km of cleaned irrigation channels across districts of Azerbaijan. Moreover, 23 internally displaced persons Business Plans’ were selected for small business support in 2 pilot regions in Aghdam and Aghjabedi. 33 communities, 6600 households, and 23,100 individuals directly benefited from the project. As part of the project activities, a bilingual National Atlas of Kahrizes in Azerbaijan and National Master Plan on Kahriz Revitalization in Azerbaijan were prepared. In 2019, the Kahriz Research and Information Center was established at the Azerbaijan State Agrarian University to raise awareness and promote scientific studies on Kahriz engineering. Capacity building for kankans was also one of the component of the Project. 10 kankans out of the 50 trainees are trained as masters and trainers.

In recognition of its innovative technology, the Kahriz Project received the International Energy Globe Award in 2021.