caucaz.com
Breaking News published on 16/09/2005

Georgia gives green light to construction of Kars-Tbilisi Railroad

Tbilisi, September 16 – Georgian prime minister Zurab Nogaideli confirmed
yesterday that Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan would get down to building a
railway road to connect Turkish Kars with Georgian Tbilisi.

Speaking at a meeting of Georgian and Turkish businessmen in Tbilisi,
Nogaideli said they would start the work shortly after the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline started pumping oil. Turkish state minister
Kursad Tuzmen, who led a 200-strong delegation of Turkish businessmen, said
Turkey wants to increase its bilateral trade with Georgia from current $500
million up to $2 billion in the next three years.

He also said that Turkey and Georgia should focus on cooperation which will
enable services, capital and goods to move freely, adding that Turkey wants
the Black Sea region to be a free trade zone. Meantime State Railway
Department of Azerbaijan said a meeting of transport ministers of Georgia,
Turkey and Azerbaijan to discuss the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway project,
originally scheduled for August 24, will now be held in September.

The length of the railway is 98 kilometers; 68 kilometers of the railway
will stretch across Turkey while 30 kilometers will run through Georgia.
Preliminary estimates place the cost of the project at USD 400. This project
is opposed by Armenia, whose transport minister, Andranik Manukian, said
recently that the railway that would circumvent Armenia, would further
isolate the country.

US Congress Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Joe Knollenberg along with Caucus
Co-Chair Frank Pallone and Congressman George Radanovich recently introduced
a resolution, which would prohibit United States assistance in developing or
promoting rail connections that traverse or connect Azerbaijan, Georgia and
Turkey, and bypass Armenia.

In a recent letter to United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
Members of Congress expressed their dismay over plans to develop the
Kars-Tblisi-Baku rail link that could take years to construct, while
overlooking the existing Turkey-Armenia (Kars-Gymuri) line, which could be
operational in weeks with only a few minor repairs.

In pertinent part, the letter stated that open and integrated transportation
routes among Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are necessary to
promote cooperation, support economic growth and help resolve regional
conflicts.