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Reconstruction Projects in Karabakh and Major Contractors: the President's Former Son-in-Law and a Deputy's Son

· 3 min read

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See Breeze Construction LLC has signed direct procurement contracts with the Restoration, Construction, and Management Service in the Aghdam, Fuzuli, and Khojavend districts without holding competitive tenders. The total value of the construction projects awarded to this company exceeds AZN 111.9 million. This approach raises serious questions regarding the limitation of competitive mechanisms in public procurement.

Under one of the contracts, the company will carry out the construction of individual residential houses and engineering communication systems in Eyvazkhanbeyli village of the Aghdam district, receiving AZN 61.7 million in return. Another contract covers the construction of residential buildings and social facilities—including a school, kindergarten, medical center, and additional infrastructure—in Pirahmadli village of the Fuzuli district. The value of this project amounts to AZN 50.2 million.

The institutional profile of See Breeze Construction LLC also attracts attention. According to the State Tax Service, the company’s legal representative is Elbey Azar Rzayev. His LinkedIn profile indicates that since 2018 he has been working as a general operations manager at Crocus Group, the family company of Emin Agalarov, the former son-in-law of President Ilham Aliyev. At the same time, domain registration data for the company’s official website show links to Crocus LLC, with the domain administrator later changed to See Breeze Invest LLC. These facts confirm that the company is connected to Emin Agalarov, the former son-in-law of President Ilham Aliyev.

Another example of the political elite’s involvement in Karabakh reconstruction projects is Diler İnşaat JSC, owned by Orkhan Guluzade, the son of long-serving Member of Parliament Ulvi Guliyev. Over the past month, the company has repeatedly won tenders for the construction of new residential complexes in the Aghdam district, securing more than AZN 48 million in public procurement funds.

According to information published on the public procurement portal, Diler İnşaat JSC most recently won a contract worth approximately AZN 32 million for internal communication works in residential and non-residential buildings within Residential Complex No. 5. Together with two tenders won a month earlier, the total value of projects awarded to the company approaches AZN 48 million.

Diler İnşaat JSC has also participated in several prestigious construction projects across the country. These include Trump Tower, Flame Towers, SOCAR Tower, Port Baku Towers, Crescent Hotel, and Deniz Mall, reflecting the company’s capacity and experience in large-scale developments.

Investigations show that the company was initially established as Orkhan 1989 LLC, later renamed Diler İnşaat LLC, and subsequently reorganized as Diler İnşaat JSC.

From an analytical perspective, the implementation of reconstruction and redevelopment projects in Karabakh demonstrates the dominance of a limited number of major contractors. The involvement of individuals belonging to the political elite behind these companies once again brings to the forefront issues of transparency, competition, and institutional accountability in public procurement in Karabakh.