The construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad to start in September in
Georgia

arminfo
2007-08-11 09:45:00

The construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad will start on September
20 in Georgia. The railroad will connect the transport systems of
Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, the First Deputy Minister of Economic
Development of Georgia David Natroshvili said, according to Trend.

He noted that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev and Georgian President
Mikhail Sahakashvili will participate in the construction opening
ceremony. From the Turkish side the Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan
will most probably be present at the ceremony. D. Natroshvili also
mentioned that, presently, presentation scenarios are under elaboration
and the details of the future actions are
defined.

Azerbaijan allots $200mln worth credit to the Georgian
"Marabda-Kartsakhi Railroad" LLC for a 25-year term with 1% annual
interest rate. One of these days the International Bank of Azerbaijan
will allot the first tranche to the construction project operator of
the Georgian section of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad "Marabda-Kartsakhi
Railroad" LLC. The total volume of the credit’s first tranche will make
up $40mln. A new 29km long railroad will be constructed at Georgian
territory, a wheelset change station -on the Turkish border, as well as
the old road will be reconstructed by these funds. Azerbaijan, Georgia
and Turkey signed the final document of BTK railroad construction in
February. The total project cost makes up about $ 425mln. Up to 5mln
tons of load are expected to be transported by it at the first stage.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress