Azerbaijan is racing to rebuild in recaptured Nagorno-Karabakh

Source:The Economist Date:02Mar2024

President Ilham Aliyev has pledged that 140,000 Azeris will return to the region by 2026. He is earmarking $2.4bn for reconstruction in 2024, more than a tenth of the country’s annual budget. Roads and railways as well as housing need rehabilitation, and the spending spree is bringing rewards for Mr Aliyev’s friends.

Allies of Azerbaijan, a bewildering spectrum including Hungary, Israel, Japan, Britain and Iran, have expressed interest in bidding. Turkish firms have been prioritised, in return for Ankara’s decisive military support in Karabakh over the past four years; by the end of 2023, Turkish firms had won $3.4bn in contracts.