Baku-Tbilisi -Kars Railway Line Hits Final Stage of Construction

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway project has hit its final stage of construction. The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia, together with Ahmet Arslan, Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communications of Turkey, and Javid Gurbanov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways took the train from Tbilisi to Marabda - Kartsakhi yesterday, to inspect the new train route, and the infrastructure works going on in the area. 

As the Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development reports, 70% of the works of the Georgian part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route are already done, but the electrification process, customs and sanitary services constructions are yet to be finalized. 

The first freight train from Azerbaijan to pass through Georgia to Turkey is expected to be in two months time approximately, the project is said to have a 5 million tone freight turnover per year, with hopes to further increase to 15 million tonnes in goods yearly. 

“The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway magistral links China with Europe. The logistics in the region are changing principally, as is the coordination system in the region, and the large trade between Kazakhstan and Turkey and between China and Turkey can partially already be served through this railway route,” Giorgi Gakharia noted. 

As Zeki Levent Gümrükçü, Ambassador of Turkey to Georgia said whilst congratulating the governments and people of the three countries with this historic achievement, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project will not only further link Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, but also connect two continents; Europe and Asia, with rapidly growing trade and transportation between the continents.

By Nino Gugunishvili