On February 13, the groundbreaking ceremony of the largest Thermal Power Station with a capacity of 1280 MW of the independence period was held in "Gulistan" Palace in Baku.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev participated in the event.
The head of state made a speech at the event.

Speech of President Ilham Aliyev:

- Dear ladies and gentlemen.
Dear guests.
Today we have gathered for the ceremony of laying the foundation of a new 1280 megawatt power plant in the city of Mingachevir. I am sure that we will celebrate the opening of this station in the near future - in 2025.

This is a very significant event, it will greatly strengthen the energy potential of our country, and at the same time, it will further increase the importance of Mingachevir as the power center of Azerbaijan. Mingachevir is currently our main city in the field of electric energy. The power plant operating in Mingachevir meets most of the electricity needs of our country today.

Heydar Aliyev was the Great Leader who turned Mingachevir into an energy center not only of Azerbaijan, but of the Caucasus in general. Under his leadership and initiative, in the 70s of the last century - more precisely, in 1976, the foundation of a large power plant was laid in Mingachevir. The first block of the big station was inaugurated in 1981 with the personal participation of Heydar Aliyev.

I must also say that as a result of this newly built station meeting modern standards, the amount of carbon dioxide will be reduced to a great extent - 2 million tons, and thus it will be of great benefit to the environment.

The new power plant is expected to be put into operation in 2025, and the construction process will be carried out by a specialized local company. The 1280 megawatt power plant will be the largest thermal power plant to be built during independence of the country.