Georgia, Tbilisi / Trend corr. N.Kirtskhalia / The Azerbaijani Azerinshat Service company won in the international tender for construction of 30km of the Kartsakhi-Akhalkalaki railway. The Georgian Railway Ltd reported to the Trend news agency that Georgian and Turkish companies also took part at the tender. However, the proposals of the Azerbaijani company were more appreciable.
The agreement with the Azerbaijani company will be signed in the near future. Under the agreement the company has to launch construction within thirty days. The company must complete construction by 1 October 2009.
Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan signed memorandum on construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway on 7 February 2007. The project is estimated by $422mln. The project envisages repair of Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki railway and construction of Kars-Akhalkalaki railway with 98km length.
The foundation ceremony of the Georgian part of Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railway is planning to hold on 21 and 22 November. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Turkish Prime Minister Rajap Tayyip Ardogan, and Georgian President Michael Saakashvili is expected to take part at the ceremony.
Azerbaijan allocated $200mln to Georgia for construction of the Georgian part of the railway.