DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT “AZERBAIJAN - 2020: OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE” Project importance. The construction of new roads will be accompanied with the principle of ensuring the population’s security, the construction of intra-urban and inter-urban car parks will be speeded up, the relevant infrastructure will be improved and an intellectual management system of transport will be implemented in big cities. The public transport system in the capital and other cities, districts and villages will significantly develop. The country’s railway system and air transport will improve even more and grounds will be created for the regions’ balanced development and diversified progress of tourism. During the period covered by the concept, the Baku metro will rapidly develop and expand, new stations will be built and the car fleet will be updated. In the sphere of air transport, a new air terminal, runway and hangars will be put into operation at Heydar Aliyev International Airport and a free economic zone will be created in this area. Work to update the other six international airports and the air fleet will continue. Taking into account regional development priorities, the state’s infrastructure and investment policies and business investment strategies will be coordinated and will be prioritized mainly in terms of economic effectiveness (through analysis of expenses and revenues). The differences between the country’s economic regions in terms of quality of life, per capital production and the volume of investment will be reduced. The flexibility of local government bodies in the adoption of economic decisions will be increased within the framework of a modern approach. Special projects will be carried out to develop rural areas and measures will continue to improve the infrastructure and social services. The problem of roads in regions and villages will be kept in the centre of attention and relevant steps will be taken to meet the demand in the transport sector. The improvement of the infrastructure in the country’s regions, the expansion of the use of information technologies, the formation of tourist and recreational zones, territorial production clusters in priority economic spheres and new regional development centres considering the competitive advantages of every region will speed up the socio-economic development of regions. The regional development centres will stimulate balanced socio-economic development in regions and reduce regional inequality and sharp differences in the structure of the commodity turnover in economic districts, and slow down the concentration of economic resources mostly in central cities. 19