The Messenger, Georgia
Sept 15 2005

Government studies Kars-Akhalkalaki railway

The government of Georgia is studying the technical and economic
issues surrounding the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Baku railway.
Prime Minister of Georgia Zurab Nogaideli told journalists at the
State Chancellery on Tuesday that consultations on attraction of
investments would start soon.
According to the information of the State Railway Department of
Azerbaijan, a meeting of the Transport Ministers of Georgia, Turkey
and Azerbaijan on the issue of Kars-Akhalkalaki-Baku railway project,
originally scheduled for August 24, will now be held in September.
The length of Kars-Akhalkalaki-Baku railway is 98 kilometers; 68
kilometers of the railway will cover territory of Turkey while 30
kilometers will run through Georgia.
Preliminary estimates place the cost of the project at USD 400.
Opposed to the project is Armenia, whose Minister of Transport,
Andranik Manuklyan, states that as the railway circumvents that
country, it will be used by Turkey to put pressure on Armenia.