Azerbaijan, Baku, April 17 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
According to preliminary estimates, the cost of building the Baku Bay bridge will be $2.5 billion, Azerbaijani Deputy Transport Minister Musa Panahov told Trend on Tuesday.
The Transport Ministry in late 2009 signed with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) a protocol for preparing a feasibility study for the bridge over the bay.
"These preliminary estimates were presented by Korean specialists on the basis of a feasibility study for the project. Korean company also presented preliminary sketches of the appearance of the bridge," the deputy minister said.
However, according to foreign experts, this amount is too small for a project of this scale, Panahov said.
He noted that the project is quite expensive and is currently under review.
"The Korean side presented its proposals, feasibility study and a few sketches. They were presented to the relevant government agencies to get feedback," said Panahov.
The Government of the Republic of Korea has allocated $ 1.6 million.in 2009-2011 to KOICA for the project.
The length of the main part of the bridge to be built over the Caspian Sea from Shikhovo to Zyha will be 13.5-15 km. Together with communications the length of bridge that will be connected with the Baku ring road, may reach 26 kilometers. Thus, the bridge will be the second-longest in the world after the Chinese one.
The construction will be completed in about five years.