Turkish and German companies have won a tender to create an open zoo on 200 hectares of land in Azerbaijan.

The animals will live in a near-natural environment and visitors will not be aware of fences, Azerbaijan's minister of ecology and natural resources, Huseyn Bagirov, said in an interview published today on the ruling New Azerbaijan Party website.

"The Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia have no such specialized park. I believe this will attract tourists to the country. This park will also function as a scientific centre. Work on the project will start soon and I think we will have a modern complex in two to three years," Bagirov said.

The minister said he had received many requests from foreign experts to close the zoo in Baku. "This is a jail for animals," the party website quotes Bagirov as saying.

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