Road Rehab Makes Economic Growth Accessible for Remote Communities
Over 3,400 residents in Lerik, a remote mountainous district in southeastern Azerbaijan, and neighboring communities depend on a poorly maintained primary road. Surging mountain streams, rain, snow, and ice caused deterioration, washouts, and freezing, rendering the road dangerous and impassable at times. Difficult access has effectively impeded local economic growth, as farmers are unable to reach markets. The region’s natural beauty makes it a promising tourism destination, but the transportation issue has deterred investment.
With support from USAID’s Community Development Activity (CDA), Lerik district residents decided to chart a new course. The Gishlag, Gilgilov, Hovil, Siyob, Daster, Bradi, and Hamarat communities formed a Community Development Council (CDC) and decided to expand and rehabilitate over 12 km of road surface.
On July 26, 2008, the Hovil community celebrated the completion of the five-month road project. Anne Derse, U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan; Dr. Ken Yamashita, USAID Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia; Scott Taylor, USAID Country Coordinator; and Zoran Radic, CHF International Country Director joined in the festivities.
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| Lerik residents were directly involved in rehabilitating their local road. |
Arriving from Baku on the newly upgraded road, Ambassador Derse congratulated local residents on working together to identify and address their most pressing, shared needs. She noted that CDCs are a strong example of the cooperation needed for Azerbaijan to achieve a bright and prosperous future.
Agabay Hocatov, CDC leader from Gilgilov, agreed. ”We suffered from bad condition of the main road for decades. It was very difficult to go to neighboring communities and to the center. We could not transport our vegetables and fruits to markets. Since we started working with USAID’s Community Development Activity program, we have laid a foundation for cooperation with local authorities in addressing our priority problems.”
Head of Lerik Excom Rovshan Bagirov also congratulated the communities on their achievement. He believed the road project would improve the main road access and enable better distribution of fruits and vegetables produced by these communities.
Community members shared their thoughts on how the new road would improve their lives. Whether enabling them to bring produce to market, travel to school, seek healthcare, or visit friends and neighbors—each thought holds the promise of connecting to new opportunities that are now within reach.
CHF International is the implementing partner for USAID’s Community Development Activity in Azerbaijan.
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