Baku-Kars railroad construction to resume after March 15

PanARMENIAN.Net

Baku-Kars railroad construction to resume after March 15
07.03.2009 16:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The construction on Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway
project will restart in Georgia after March 15, Azerbaijan State
Railway told APA. Azerbaijan State Railway said the construction in
Georgia was suspended because of unfavorable weather in
January. Design engineering and small-scale work was done during this
period. Ukraine’s KyivHiproTrans Research and Development Institute
prepared the working drafts for reconstruction of Marabda-Tetriskaro
section (29.2km) and Akhalkalak Station as part of its undertakings in
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Project. The sides agreed on both projects.

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey signed the final document on the
construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars on February 8, 2007. The
construction of the new railway in Georgia started on November 21,
2007. As per the agreement, Azerbaijan undertook to extend a $200mln
loan to Georgia’s Marabda-Kartsakhi Railroad LLC for 25 years at 1%
interest rate annually. The loan will be spent on construction of a
29km long railroad in Georgia, a ST-2 wheel base in Turkish-Georgian
border and rehabilitation of old railway.

The project costs more than $600 million. Azerbaijan’s
Azerinshaatservis Company constructs Georgian part of the
railway. Construction of railroads is slated for operation in late
2011.

A 76km long railway will be laid in Turkey as part of
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Rail Link