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Int’l Rail Business Forum opens in Baku [UPDATE / PHOTO]

25 November 2016 [16:00] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Nigar Abbasova

The international rail business forum - “Strategic Partnership 1520: The Caspian Region - connecting four corners of the world”, which kicked off in Baku on November 25, became a stage for the demonstration of Azerbaijan’s transport potential.  

Issues of international transport corridors, construction of railway infrastructure, rolling stock manufacturing and building logistics chains were considered during the forum.

A number of agreements were signed within the forum, including a memorandum on strategic partnership between Azerbaijani Railways (ADY) and Ukrainian Railways, which was undersigned by ADY head Javid Gurbanov and   board member of Ukrainian Railways Marek Zalesny. ADY also signed memo on cooperation with Russian TransContainer and Rusagrotrans. Moreover, memo on cooperation was also signed between RJD Story and Baku Metro.

Speaking at the event Deputy Prime Minister Abid Sharifov said that a special attention is attributed to the development of transport infrastructure in the country.

“The focus is on the construction of a new international ferry, new motor roads, linking Azerbaijan and neighboring countries, reconstruction and full renewal of railway roads between Azerbaijan and Georgia,” he said.

The official stressed that Azerbaijan has invested nearly $25 billion in the development of its transport sector over the recent years.

Head of the Azerbaijani Railways Javid Gurbanov, addressing the event spoke about priorities of the company’s activities.

He noted that the priority directions of the activity of Azerbaijan Railways for 2017-2018 includes the development of the North-South transport corridor, renewal of infrastructure from Yalama to Astara to create comfortable conditions for the carriers, as well as to issue a loan to the Iranian side for construction of the section of the Astara-Rasht railway.

Baku-Tbilisi-Kars

The long anticipated implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, which will open a new rail corridor from the Caspian Sea to Europe, nears its completion.

Gurbanov, said that the section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway will be ready to put into operation in mid-2017. The project is expected to give a stimulus to the development of the region, and growth of export in participating countries.

Ankara is determined to complete construction of the Turkish section of the BTK, as the project will contribute to turning its Kars province into a trade center.  The province play a crucial role in the project, as most of the cargo is expected to be transshipped to Turkish wagons at Kars.

The project which will practically exclude the need for sea transportation is expected to bring the entire region closer to Europe. The peak capacity of the railway will be 17 million tons of cargo per year.

North South

Azerbaijan's Deputy Economy Minister Sahil Babayev said that the Azerbaijani government is ready to assist all participants of the international North-South transport corridor in every way possible.

Mentioning that transit freight transportation is deemed to be one of the drivers of economy, he said that being a participant of such multimodal projects as North-South, West-East, Azerbaijan positions itself as a regional hub.  

He noted that one of the main issues for the corridor is application of common rules and procedures along the route of the corridor.

Head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) resident office in Baku , Ivana Duarte, addressing the forum said that the financial institution is ready to partially finance the North-South international transport corridor project.

The North-South route enjoys several advantages compared to other transport corridors. It is more profitable for each parameter than other alternative routes, such as the Suez Canal - the Mediterranean Sea-Northern Europe and the Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan-Russia-Northern Europe routes.

Test transportation via the North-South Transport Corridor was implemented in October. Universal containers were sent as test ones from the Indian city of Bangalore to Vorsino station in Russia. The containers were delivered by sea from the Indian city of Mumbai to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, where they were sent to Astara by car. From there, the containers were sent to Russia by rail.

A number of countries have already expressed their will to join the highly ambitious project.

Deputy Chairman of ADY Igbal Huseynov, talking to reporters said that Ukraine is keen to join the project to deliver its goods through the territory of Azerbaijan to Iran and Central Asian states.

“Ukraine offers to render its assistance and support on the transportation of goods, which will be delivered from Europe and pass through Ukrainian check points and further pass through the corridor, should it join the project in order to deliver its cargo to Iran,” he clarified.  

Huseynov said that Estonia also intends to join the project.  ADY is conducting negotiations with Estonian Railways about this project.  

 “Estonian Paldski port is expected to join this route. Cargos from the Northern Europe and Scandinavia are planned to be transported to Iran through Russia and Azerbaijan and then to Persian Gulf”, he added.

Azerbaijani, Russian, Iranian and Estonian relevant bodies are planned to meet and sign a memorandum in early December.

 Huseynov added that negotiations will also be conducted with Georgian and Kazakh railways.

Railroad bridge over the Astarachay River

Abid Sharifov mentioned that the work on the construction of the railroad bridge over the Astarachay River at Azerbaijan-Iran border is currently underway.  

The construction of the bridge, which forms the border between the two similarly-named towns of Astara in Azerbaijan and Iran, was launched in April 2016.

Some four bridge footing, as well as abutments and concrete bridge railings have already been installed. The length of the railroad bridge is expected to reach 82.5 meters, while its width will amount to 10.6 meters.

The bridge, which is funded and built jointly by the two countries under the terms of an inter-governmental agreement, bears strategic importance, as it will serve as a connector of railways of Azerbaijan and Iran.  The facility will be an integral part of the Astara (Azerbaijan) - Astara (Iran) railway, which is part of the North-South international transport corridor.







































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