Transitions Online, Czech Republic
Jan 5 2010
Making Tracks
by Andy Markowitz; photos by Abbas Atilay, Molly Corso, and Gulnar Novruzova
5 January 2010
A massive railroad project raises cautious hopes for economic
improvement in the South Caucasus. A TOL/EurasiaNet multimedia
presentation.
To politicians, business interests, train-spotters, and international
observers, the planned Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is many things: a new
and improved route for moving cargo through the South Caucasus; a
potential magnet for foreign investment; an example of tightening ties
among Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey; a sharp stick in Armenia’s eye.
But at track-side, the project’s potential impact can be boiled down
to one mantra: jobs, jobs, jobs.
An idea first floated in 1993 after Turkey closed its border with
Armenia, shutting off the existing rail link between Kars, Turkey, and
Gyumri, Armenia, the `BTK’ project was formally launched in 2007. The
$600 million effort aims to establish the South Caucasus as a major
link in the Eurasian transit corridor by building 105 kilometers of
new track from Kars to Akhalkalaki, Georgia, and modernizing the
existing line through Tbilisi to Baku.
Work has proceeded in fits and starts. Both the United States and the
European Union, which previously supported pipeline projects following
similar routes, refused to provide financing for the railway because
it bypassed Armenia. (Azerbaijani oil revenue is instead providing the
lion’s share of the money, including a virtually interest-free $220
million loan to Georgia for its section.) Construction in Georgia was
suspended for a time in 2008 due to environmental issues and the
Ossetia war.
Originally set to go into operation in 2010, the line is now on track
to open in 2011, according to Azerbaijani transport officials. (A
project overview at the rail-industry website railway-technology.com
puts the opening date at late 2012.) Turkey and Armenia’s agreement
last fall to reopen their border does not seem to have put a damper on
the project, which experts predict will triple passenger traffic and
cargo volume on the regional rail network over the next two decades.
On the ground along the route, such financial and political concerns
take a back seat, as residents in towns where the railroad was once a
powerful economic engine look to the BTK to bring badly needed jobs
and boost wages ` or dismiss it is a political ploy to enrich outside
interests. TOL and EurasiaNet sent photographers to three stops on the
line ` Agstafa, Azerbaijan; Tsalka, Georgia; and Kars, the western
terminus ` to take a look at the old railway and ask locals how they
thought the new one might change their lives and communities.
Abbas Atilay and Gulnar Novruzova are freelance photographers in Baku.
Molly Corso is a freelance photographer and reporter based in Tbilisi.
Andy Markowitz is TOL’s multimedia editor.
See map at 1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=355&NrSectio n=3&NrArticle=21062