Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway construction - priority for Georgia

The construction of the east-west highway and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway are priority projects for the Georgian Regional Development and Infrastructure Ministry, Minister Ramaz Nikolaishvili said today.

"In general 812 million lari was invested in these spheres in 2009, 23,900 people were employed. In 2010, investments rose to 912 million lari. The number of employed peoples reached 31,000. By late 2011, the ministry will employ 44,400 people, and the volume of investments will reach 1.386 billion lari. By 2012, it is planned to make investments worth 1.838 billion lari and 62,500 peoples will be employed [$ 1 =1.66 lari], " Nikolaishvili said.

He said almost half - 3,000 kilometers from existing 7,000 kilometers of roads in Georgia were rehabilitated.

Some 33 bridges were built and 78 were rehabilitated, four tunnels are under construction, and rehabilitation work is underway on a tunnel, he said.

Nikolaishvili said the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project envisages the construction of railway with length of 25 km and rehabilitation of the existing 160 km.

Serious work is also underway in the sphere of water supply. Relevant projects are carried out in 27 municipalities in Georgia. Also a complete rehabilitation of water systems is initiated in six major cities across the country.

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) finances the construction and rehabilitation of the Georgian section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.

A new 105-kilometer railroad branch will be constructed as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway. About 76 kilometers will stretch via Turkey and 29 kilometers through Georgia. Moreover, an Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Marabda railway section will be reconstructed in Georgia to increase transport capacity of up to 15 million tons of cargo a year. A point of train transition from the existing train tracks in Georgia to the European tracks is planned to be built in Akhalkalaki.

Azerbaijani Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov said earlier that completion of construction work is planned for late 2012. The corridor will be fully commissioned in early 2013.


/Trend/