The construction boom has hit the capitals of all three Republics of the South Caucasus, and each country, although to a lesser extent in Georgia, significant concerns have been raised regarding the entire process in what is often corruption-driven urban development. In Yerevan, for example, architects, seismologists and environmentalists are deeply upset by the anarchic construction of the new Northern Avenue which many allege breaches the law, construction standards as well as human rights.

In May 2005, one person died on the controversial Yerevan construction site, and the BBC today reports that a high-rise building under construction in Baku, capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan, has collapsed. Workers on the construction site have died.

Baku city prosecutor Aziz Seidov told reporters that initial evidence pointed to shoddy construction work as the cause of the collapse.

High-rise buildings are springing up across the Azeri capital, thanks to a construction boom fuelled by the oil industry.

Local media have said that much of the construction is of a poor and in violation of safety standards.

They also say developers bypass building regulations by bribing corrupt officials.

Baku mayor Hajibala Abutalybov told the Reuters news agency the building that collapsed was being built without official permission.

The head of the construction company and another company executive have been arrested, Prosecutor-General Zakir Qaralov told the Associated Press news agency.

In what is an incident that should raise concerns here in Yerevan, where I doubt buildings are built to any higher standards than in Baku and where construction is also often illegal, Ria Novosti reports that the death toll now stands at 14. It goes without saying that the accident in Azerbaijan should result in actions against similarly sub-standard constructions in Armenia.