The opening of our Dost Agropark project we have carried out in Azerbaijan Karabakh, which is the first private sector investment of the Karabakh and Zangezur regions, was held with a ceremony attended by President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.
The groundbreaking project, which we will implement in 3 phases, was initiated on October 26, 2021 by the President of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. İlham Aliyev. During the previous year, all the works in Dost Agropark Phase 1 were completed and the facility was inaugurated on 20 October 2022 with a ceremony attended by the Honorable Presidents.
In the first phase of the project, management facilities, 5,200 square meters of livestock indoor facilities, 113,000 square meters of outdoor animal paddocks, social facilities, cafeteria, movie theater, resting areas, gym, swimming pool and staff lodgings were constructed. 3,500 angus cattles were brought to the region with pasture-type livestock breeding, and plant production activities were successfully completed. At the ceremony attended by both Presidents last year, wheat and barley were harvested.
The first “Made in Karabakh” label was affixed by the Presidents to the packages of meat products that were brought to the region by the Dost Agropark, grown and processed by pasture-based farming.
The opening of the Zangezur Heavy Athletic Club, which was founded by Dost Agropark, was also held in the program. Turkish and Azerbaijani national weightlifting team players and amateur athletes of the club took part in the opening of the club. Also, Turkey’s legendary weightlifting athlete Halil Mutlu attended the ceremony too. The leaders, who came together with the athletes of the Zangezur Heavy Athletic Club, had a pleasant time. President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, showed his interest in sports by lifting weights.
After the completion of Phase 1 of our Dost Agropark project, investments in Phase 2 and Phase 3 will continue at full speed. When all phases of the project are completed;
- Plant (agricultural) production and machinery parks covering 6,000 hectares will be put into operation,
- A livestock facility with a capacity of 10,000 angus cattles will be established,
- Seed and nursery grounds will be put into operation,
- An integrated meat processing facility will be opened to serve the entire region,
- A cold storage and packaging facility will be constructed,
- 100.000 tons of agricultural storage facilities will be put into operation,
- Agro Market will be contructed to meet the seed, fertilizer and agricultural equipment needs of the region and at the same time to present the products produced in Karabakh to the international market with the brand “Made in Karabakh”.
Dost Agropark will focus on smart agriculture technologies, zero waste, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture practices and processing will be carried out according to halal food practices that will protect nature and the environment.
When all phases are completed, the project, which will employ 500 people, will create an investment ecosystem of more than $100 million and contribute to the food security of Azerbaijan and Turkey.
