Azerbaijan, Baku, 26 April / corr. Trend I. Khalilova/ The Ministry of Transport of Azerbaijan is studying the possibility of the construction of a high-speed overland subway from Baku to Sumgayit, the Ministry said. A special working group had been set up by the Ministry to study the possibilities.
The construction of a high-speed overland subway was proposed by South Korea. One of the options is the construction of the subway through Bilajari settlement.
The Korean Railway has already proposed Azerbaijan the project of launching high-speed train in Azerbaijan from Baku until border with Georgia with a length of 503km. The studies showed that it is expedient to launch this project from 2010. The project covers 7 years (two years for designing and five year for construction).
The similar project in the direction of the Russian border might be implemented in the future. The project is expected to be carried out at the expense of mixed investments- state and private banks and companies. Implementation of the project will have positive impact on the ecology and will save fuel.
According to Korean specialists, presently, the speed the railway in Azerbaijan does not exceed 80km per hour as a result of abrade of roadway, locomotive and train park, as well as alarm and connection systems.
Specialists have proposed three options for implementation of the project- to make changes to current situation and accelerate the speed up to 100km/h, accelerate the speed up to 150km/h and 160km/h.
The first option envisages $2.7bln investment, $3.5bln investments - into the second and $4.3bln investments - for the third option.
The second option is valued at $3.5bln:
- $177mln for the reconstruction of paving,
- $441mln for reconstruction of highway of 428km ($1.031 for each kilometer)
- $317mln - for the reconstruction of electricity system of 503km ($0.631mln for each km)
- $370mln - for the reconstruction of signaling system of 503km ($0.736mln for each km).
- $396mln - for the reconstruction of communication devices of 503km ($0.789mln for each km).
- $810mln - for the reconstruction of the aerial lines of 503km ($1.610mln for each km).
The direct expenditures are valued at $2.511bln, unforeseen expenditures - $251mln and consultation services - $251mln. The total cost of the project (excluding VAT) makes up $3.013bln including 18% VAT of $3.555bln.
The official exchange rate for 26 April is 0,8289 AZN/USD.
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