Baku, February 1, AssA-Irada. "An area of 11 million square meters will be cleared from mines this year," the director of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), Nazim Ismayilov, told a news conference on Thursday.
Ismayilov said mine-clearance work was quite expensive, adding that $1,000-3,000 is required for each square meter. He said further that mine clearance work was currently underway in Agstafa, Fizuli, Agdam and Terter Districts.
"We will try to expand the scope of our coverage by the year," Ismayilov said. He indicated that one mine-clearance robot and 12 trained dogs would be brought to Azerbaijan.
ANAMA's budget for 2006 has been approved in the amount of $4,400,000.