Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 21
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The project on construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway will be completed at least by late 2014, Turkish Transport, Maritime and Communications Minister, Binali Yildirim said, RayTurk newspaper reported on Nov. 19.
According to the minister, the construction works are currently continuing as part of the BTK railway project.
Earlier Binali Yildirim said the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project has revived the historic Silk Road.
It is planned to build a new 105-kilometer long branch of the railway line as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project. Aside from that, Marabda-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railway section will be reconstructed in Georgia and this will increase the railway's capacity to 15 million tons of cargo a year. It is planned to build a post in Akhalkalaki for transition of trains from the existing tracks in Georgia to the European ones.
The BTK railway will have a direct access to the European rail network and it is expected that 30 million tons of cargos will be transported each year via the railway.