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Baku-Tbilisi- Kars railway construction suspended

18:50 / 08/08/2009The Baku-Tbilisi- Kars railway construction has been
suspended becuase of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and geological
problems, Nikolaz Natbiladze, the Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan,
stated in Baku yesterday, Trend Capital reports.

According to Bidzin Bregadze, the director of the Marabda-Kartsakhi
Railway LLC, the operation schedule has been interrupted for technical
reasons.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will connect the Azerbaijani, Georgian
and Turkish railroad networks. The project is estimated at US $ 600
mln and is to be completed by 2010.

According to NEWS.am sources, the construction has been suspended due
to some economic problems. The possible unblocking of the
Armenian-Turkish border, launch of Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railway
makes the investment in the project inefficient for Turkey. Georgia
will not be interested in the project as a transit country, as some of
the cargoes intended for Armenia will enter the Republic through
Turkey.