BTK project to strengthen Azerbaijani-Turkish energy corridor

/By AzerNews/

By Aynur Karimova

The construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will strengthen the energy corridor between Baku and Ankara.

This remark was made by Gunay Ozdemir, the governor of the Turkish Kars province, on June 23.

He also stressed the importance of the BTK project for the region. "It will be possible to transport cargo easily from Europe to China by trains after the implementation of the project," Ozdemir said.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being constructed based on the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish interstate agreement. The project has been financed by Azerbaijan's state oil fund SOFAZ by way of a decree by the Azerbaijani president on the “Realization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project” since February 21, 2007.

Currently, as part of the project, a new 105 km branch of the railway line is being built, while the Akhalkalaki-Marabda -Tbilisi section of the railway is being reconstructed. After completion, this will increase its capacity up to 15 million tons of cargo per a year.

The project is expected to be finished in 2015 and the launch of the first test train is planned by the end of the year.

The capacity of the corridor will be 17 million tons per year. At the initial stage, the figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line is effective from an economic point of view. It is stable and fully complies with environmental standards. It serves as the beginning of a new stage in transport development for the region.

This railway line will expand multi-modal transportation opportunities and ensure the growth of passenger and freight transportation.

Various countries, in particular, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have shown their interest in this project as well.

After the third year of operation, the projected volume of cargo under the railway line will be three million tons, five million tons after the fifth year, and after its tenth year, the railway could accommodate more than 10 million tons.

Azerbaijan-Turkey relations have always been strong due to a common culture and history and the mutual intelligibility of Turkish and Azerbaijani languages.

Turkey was the first country in the world to recognize Azerbaijan's independence in 1991 and has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity, and realize the economic potential that arises from its rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea.

Considering the current trend in the increase of important projects initiated by the two countries, Azerbaijani-Turkish collaboration is expected to develop in the future.