An agreement on “Mutual Investments, Activities in Sustainable Environmental Development and Attracting International Investment” was signed between Sea Breeze and Baku White City during the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13).
The agreement was signed by Emin Agalarov, founder of the large-scale Sea Breeze resort city, and Ruslan Sadikhov, Executive Director of the Baku White City project.
Fulfilling its role as one of the most important urban development events, WUF13, held in Baku, provided a platform for establishing another fruitful partnership.
The two leading projects in the country will combine their efforts to further strengthen the principles of sustainable development in Azerbaijan’s capital, a dynamic urban centre at the intersection of Eastern and Western approaches to developing the smart, environmentally sustainable cities of the future.
At the prestigious global forum held in Azerbaijan’s capital, leading experts recognised the achievements of the large-scale Sea Breeze resort city and the major environmentally focused Baku White City urban development project as examples of sustainable urban development.
Located on the Caspian Sea coast, Sea Breeze is taking shape as a large-scale model of urban development based on the “city within a city” concept. Starting with an initial seven-kilometre stretch along the Caspian coast, the project will eventually cover a total of 22–23 kilometres of coastline. The project envisages more than 30 million square metres of floor area, including residential buildings, hotels, commercial properties and various infrastructure facilities. After 2018, a management model for aparthotels and residential buildings was introduced. This system offers considerable convenience to investors, as property management, rentals and sales are handled professionally. Artificial peninsulas and large-scale zones are being created within Sea Breeze.
Residential, commercial and hotel infrastructure will be developed on Fire Island, a planned 200-hectare artificial island, and the complex will form part of the city concept. Particular attention is being paid to greening and landscaping, with more than 11 million plants already planted. Digital 3D modelling and simulation systems are used to manage the project.
The Baku White City project began as a vision to transform the heavily polluted industrial territory of Black City into an environmentally friendly, sustainable and comfortable urban environment, within the framework of the decree issued by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on 11 June 2007, “On Measures to Improve the Environmental Situation in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2006–2010.”
Black City’s illustrious oil history left behind an environmental catastrophe. A large-scale clean-up was launched to address its consequences, giving Black City the opportunity to be reborn as White City and become an example of modern urbanism and urban regeneration.
A symbol of the urban environment’s adaptation to environmental and climate challenges, Baku White City has been designed to cover 1,650 hectares, with an expected population of up to 280,000. Azerbaijani specialists collaborated on the project with colleagues from the renowned engineering, architecture and consultancy firm Atkins, the practice of acclaimed architect Norman Foster, the American firm F+A Architects and others.
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