Neftçala

Neftçala
City and Municipality
Monument to Turkish martyrs
Neftçala
Coordinates: 39°21′31″N 49°14′49″E / 39.35861°N 49.24694°E / 39.35861; 49.24694
Country	Azerbaijan
District	Neftchala
Established	1959
Elevation	−26 m (−85 ft)
Population  (2010)
• Total	20,510
Time zone	UTC+4 (AZT)
Area code	+994 153
Website	neftchala-ih.gov.az

Neftchala (Azerbaijani: Neftçala) is a city and the capital of the Neftchala District of Azerbaijan.

The city name is of Persian ("naft" meaning oil or petroleum) and Azerbaijani ("çala" meaning trench) origin, meaning oil trench.

Throughout its history, Neftçala has suffered from floods because of its proximity to the river and most of the town's relatively low elevation.

Today, there are a palace of culture, regional study museum and gallery museum in the city.

The city lies southwest of the delta of the Kura River. It is a lowland district.

Population (2010):Total 20,510

People are mainly employed in manufacturing, fish industry, transportation and service sectors. The largest employer operating in Neftcala, Neftcala Industrial Park which includes "Khazar Automobile Plant" by AzerMash.

The city has one professional football team, Neftchala, which has competed in the second-flight of Azerbaijani football, the Azerbaijan First Division, but the team is eliminated after 2 years of championship in the Azerbaijan First Division and not getting the license for competing in the Azerbaijan Premier League.

Public transport

Neftchala has a large urban transport system, mostly managed by the Ministry of Transportation.

Some of the city's many prestigious residents include: singer Anatollu Ganiyev and World War II hero Aghashirin Jafarov.^{[citation needed]}