Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Officially Opens

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars-BTK (BTK) railway, a key component in the modern Silk Road Railway connecting East and West, officially opened at the Baku International Sea Port on October 30.

Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as delegations of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan participated in the event.

At the opening ceremony, Georgia’s Kvirikashvili stated that the BTK project is designed to step up the development of Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan and expand their economic and trade ties, which makes it a highly stability-oriented endeavor.

The PM added that the geostrategic location of these countries gives them the unique possibility to serve as a bridge connecting Europe and Asia.

“I am convinced that the new railway will drastically change the current economic reality and will put in place brand new conditions for development, both in the region and beyond,” he said.

Kvirikashvili mentioned that the new railway route will foster the unlocking of transit and logistics potential and further strengthening the region's transport and trade status, adding it will also serve around one million passengers every year.

“We want Georgia and our region maximally to integrate into the EU's Trans-European Transport Network via this route. I am convinced that the new Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway will play a significant role to this end,” he added.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is the restoration of the ancient Silk Road on steel highways.

The agreement on the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was signed in Tbilisi in 2007. In November of the same year, the railway line was laid in Georgia’s Marabda station. A groundbreaking ceremony of the Kars-Georgia border section was held in Kars in July 2008.

The 504-kilometer part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which has a length of 846 kilometers, passes through Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, 263 kilometers of the railway runs through Georgia, and 79 kilometers – through Turkey.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will facilitate the access of Central Asian countries – Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as Afghanistan to European and world markets.

It is expected that 3-5 million tons of cargo will be transported in the third year of operation, 6-8 million tons of cargo will be transported in the fifth year of operation, and then 3 million passengers and 17 million tons of cargo will be annually transported via the railway.

By Thea Morrison