Misinformation on cost for regional railway denounced by Azerbaijan

By AzerNews

A senior Azerbaijani official on Thursday dismissed reports on a rise in the cost of opening the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, saying this information "does not correspond to reality".

Deputy Transport Minister Musa Panahov told journalists that the work on the project continues to reach the Georgian-Turkish border this year.

Panahov also said the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is scheduled to be commissioned in 2014.

Head of Azerbaijan Railways JSC Arif Askerov, commenting on the reported suspension of work under the project, said on the same day that the work on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway construction is ongoing in accordance with schedule.

According to Askerov, the Azerbaijani side adopted a budget for financing the operations throughout 2013.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being built in accordance with an inter-governmental agreement reached by Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The railway will increase the flow of containers and other types of cargo from Asia to Europe. Its throughput capacity will peak at 17 million tons of cargo per year. Initially, the capacity will be 6.5 million tons of consignments and 1 million passengers.

Azerbaijan has allocated a loan worth $775 million for the construction of the Georgian section of the railway. Funding from the State Oil Fund is carried out in accord with the 2007 presidential decree on taking measures within the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project.