Turkey’s Kolin taking on construction of Nagorno-Karabakh highway

AHVAL News
Jan 27 2021

A Turkish construction firm known for its close ties to the government has taken on a project to build a highway in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Dünya newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Kolin İnşaat is set to begin working with an Azeri company in the construction of the Ahmedbeyli-Fizuli-Shusha highway, according to the newspaper.

The four-lane highway divided into five parts will go through 20 settlements and is set to be completed in 2022.

Nagorno-Karabakh was the scene of a months-long conflict that broke out in September between Armenia and Turkish-backed Azerbaijan, which ended in a victory for the latter.

Azerbaijan, with extensive support from Turkey, took over several territories formerly under Armenian control, including the second largest settlement of Shusha, before the ceasefire was put in place in November.

Kolin has set up a construction site in Azerbaijan to begin in its work, Dünya said, noting that the country has become the latest land of opportunity for Turkish firms.

Two months ago, another Turkish firm with links to the government, Tekfen, took over the construction of the new Azeri Central Bank building.

Kolin is one of five Turkish conglomerates being awarded large tenders in recent years, which critics attribute to their close ties with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).