Having played a crucial role in
Azerbaijan’s formation and development, Heydar Aliyev left an
indelible mark in history of Azerbaijan. “Azerbaijan & Heydar
Aliyev” – is a special project of Trend News Agency, dedicated to
the 100-th anniversary of the national leader, which will cover key
events of Heydar Aliyev’s work in the years of him leading
Azerbaijan.
April 17, 1970. The commissioning of
the Ulduz (Star) metro station took place in Baku. Azerbaijan’s
National leader Heydar Aliyev attended the commissioning ceremony
for the first time as the head of Azerbaijan.
The first launch pad for the Baku Metro was finished
in February 1968, the same month that the Khatai metro station was
opened for service. Despite having only six stations, the metro
significantly facilitated the people’s movement, becoming an
important event in the life of the capital residents.
At the time, drilling operations were carried out at
the Narimanov-Neftchilar part of the metro line, which has a length
of 6.3 kilometers. The construction of the metro was within direct
competence and under the control of the relevant central
departments of the USSR. Although the work on increasing the length
of underground lines continued, there were people who tried to slow
down this process, referring to the complex hydrogeological
conditions of Baku, the difficulties of metro construction, and
financial issues. However, under the direct supervision of Heydar
Aliyev, who became the First Secretary of the Communist Party of
Azerbaijan in 1969, the construction work became even more
extensive.
On April 17, 1970, many people gathered on the square
in a large industrial district of Baku. The vast majority of them
were employees of the nearby Baku Electric Machine-Building Plant,
the Baku Electro Stamp Plant, the Baku Worsted Wool Combine, and
other enterprises. They were the ones who were most excited about
the opening of the new station because they finally had an
opportunity to easily get to and from work and save time.
First Secretary of the Baku City Committee of the
party Abdulla Kadirov, Head of the Baku Tunnel Construction
Department Alovsat Abdulragimov, and Head of the Baku Metro Lutfali
Nuriyev delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. After the
speech of the head of the Baku metro, Heydar Aliyev said that the
completion of the construction of the Ulduz station was a wonderful
gift from metro builders to the workers of Baku.
In his speech, Heydar Aliyev addressed the metro
builders, saying that along with the fulfillment of the task given,
the metro builders also enriched the experience of metro
construction with a range of new methods and techniques, adding
that at the time, those techniques were then successfully
implemented during metro construction in other cities.
“About 150 enterprises from all the union republics
supplied equipment, tools, and cable products. The Ministry of
Transport Construction, the Main Tunnel Metro Construction
Department, and fraternal collectives of metro builders in Moscow,
Leningrad [now St. Petersburg], and Kyiv have provided and keep
providing great assistance to the construction of the metro,” he
said in his speech.
Heydar Aliyev expressed confidence that metro builders
would effectively complete construction and installation work with
high quality, enhance the level of underground construction
equipment, and speed up drilling in response to the existing
challenges.
After the opening ceremony, Heydar Aliyev cut a red
ribbon to mark the opening of the station. Then, at 15:45, the
train, driven by Rafail Aliyev and Ramiz Mammadov, set off in the
direction of Narimanov station.
The great leader Heydar Aliyev has special merits in
the construction of the Baku metro during his years of leadership
of Azerbaijan, his work as First Deputy Chairman of the USSR
Council of Ministers in Moscow, and his period of activity in
subsequent years as President of independent Azerbaijan. In 2003,
22.3 kilometers of metro lines totaling 31.5 kilometers, including
14 metro stations, were constructed with the direct support of the
great leader.
