The reason for the projected decrease in funds for the reconstruction and restoration of the liberated territories next year has been explained, APA reports.
This is reflected in the “Opinion of the Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the draft state budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2026.”
It was noted that compared to the previous year, the projection of a decrease in funds for the reconstruction and restoration of the liberated territories next year, as well as the analyses of the projects, allow the conclusion that there is a high likelihood of adjustments in the direction of increasing this expenditure item, or the allocation of funds from savings in other expenditure areas of the state budget and from other sources during the implementation process.
In 2026, it is planned to allocate 3,500.0 million manats for the reconstruction and restoration of the liberated territories, which is 500.0 million manats or 12.5% less than the approved figure for 2025. The allocation of funds for the reconstruction and restoration of the liberated territories in 2026 with a decrease compared to the previous year conditions the attraction of funds from other sources for the implementation of the “First State Program on the Great Return to the Liberated Territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”
In the first 8 months of 2025, 2,746.9 million manats were executed based on relevant orders for the reconstruction and restoration expenses of the liberated territories, which is equal to 68.7% of the annual expenditures intended for this purpose. This indicator was 71.5% (in 2023) and 60.4% (in 2024) in previous years, and the high rate of execution of expenditures for the reconstruction and restoration of the liberated territories has continued. This is 11.4 percentage points higher compared to the funds executed during the first 8 months of 2025 based on the quarterly and monthly distribution of state budget expenditures.
It was noted that the audits and analyses carried out by the Chamber of Accounts have led to the conclusion that, along with the large-scale works being carried out for the reconstruction and restoration of cities and villages and the creation of modern infrastructure to ensure the Great Return to the liberated territories, optimization is necessary in terms of aligning estimated costs in projects of similar content and type, attracting funds from non-budgetary organizations for the financing of projects, reducing the budget burden, and adhering to the principle of cost-effectiveness in the use of funds. It was also stated that the experience of making adjustments to expenditures in the relevant direction during the budget execution process of the previous and current years, as well as information regarding the directions of budget and tax policy, indicates the relevance of this issue in the coming year as well.
Against the background of high implementation in the first 8 months of the current year, the lack of financing in the reporting period of 214.6 million manats of funds intended for financing 55 projects for 12 customers in 2025 for the reconstruction and restoration of the liberated territories, along with the increase in transitional projects as in previous years, means that residual funds will be generated at the end of the year, as well as the extension of the implementation of the "I State Program on the Great Return to the Liberated Territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan".
Taking into account the contributions of the audits conducted by the Chamber of Accounts, the clarification of the majority of construction projects in terms of cost-effectiveness of state funds allocated for the reconstruction and restoration of the liberated territories, and the goal aimed at timely implementation of the projects, in general, allow stating that there has been relevant progress in this field.
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