2017 Nov Dec Marina World

MARKET FOCUS: CENTRAL ASIA
Baku in Azerbaijan has a long established
yachting tradition but most of its marinas
were destroyed by floods in 1991.
is currently not only the largest marina
in the city, but the largest in the whole
of Azerbaijan.
According to Rashid Azarov,
spokesman for the national tourism
agency, yachting in Azerbaijan, as
well as in the entire Caspian region,
is rather poorly developed. The lack of
yachts, in turn,
hampers the
development of
infrastructure,
creating “a vicious
cycle”.
With a lack
of both marinas
and fuelling
stations along the
coastline, small
boats cannot
travel too far from
Baku, and small
boats coming from
Russia or Georgia
cannot make their
way along the
coast to Azerbaijan either.
Additionally, easier visa requirements
for boat owners might be required to
promote the development of yachting in
the Caspian Sea, Azarov suggested. “A
similar approach has been successfully
applied in other regions of the world,”
he said.
“The marina industry is tied to
nautical tourism so countries of the
region should jointly think about how to
develop it,” he concluded. “This would
eventually be to everyone’s benefit.”
Dagestan dreams of first marina
According to Dina Bermurzaeva,
spokesman of Russia’s Emergency
Ministry, government agencies have
been trying to find an investor to build a
first marina in the Republic of Dagestan
but with no success. The problem is
that there are only 15 yachts registered
in the region and this is clearly
not enough even to justify a small
investment project.
The situation might, however,
change due to the efforts of the private
entrepreneur Arib Magomevod, who
recently established a boat building
company in the republic. Based
in a workshop located at a former
ship repair facility in the sea port of
Makhachkala, Magomevod has already
built one yacht and currently has two
new boats in build.
Several local media reports indicate
that Magomevod’s project has sparked
interest amongst potential investors
for the construction of marinas in
Makhachkala. Marina projects could be
in the pipeline.
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www.marinaworld.com - November/December 2017 57