BTK to give impetus for connection of West and East

By Aynur Karimova - AzerNews 

The inauguration of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will give an impetus for the connection of West and East, as well as rapid development of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and other countries.

This was announced by Georgian Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili, Azertag state news agency reported.

"Also, it will play a significant role in the revival of Ancient Silk Road, and maintenance of peace in the region," he said.

The minister also noted that Azerbaijan and Georgia have completed the works towards the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, as well as installation of relevant infrastructure. Only few works have remained to be done in Turkey and it is expected that they will be completed soon.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being constructed in the framework of an agreement signed by the governments of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.

The project is being financed by Azerbaijan's state oil fund SOFAZ and slated for completion this year.

A new 105-kilometer branch of the railroad is being constructed as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project. In addition, the railway's Akhalkalaki-Marabda-Tbilisi section is under renovation in Georgia, which will increase its capacity to 15 million tons of cargo per year. A depot is under construction in Akhalkalaki for the transition of trains from the existing tracks in Georgia to European ones.

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