Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 30 / Trend A. Taghiyeva /
Joining the Marmaray railway tunnel construction project to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars will further increase its significance, Turkish Minister of Transport, Shipping and Communications Binali Yildirim said in an interview with Ecovision magazine, issued by the Association of Azerbaijani and Turkish Businessmen.
After the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and Marmaray tunnels are constructed, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia will become the most reliable and stable countries of the Asia-Europe corridor.
The minister said that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project will take full advantage of the transport potential of the region.
Yildirim said that Turkey and Azerbaijan have determined the route of the railway, which will connect Nakhchivan with the Turkish Kars. The project will establish direct rail communication from Azerbaijan to Europe via Turkey.
The proposed 223.6-kilometer Kars-Nakhchivan route will connect Kars, Susuz, Diludzhu, and Nakhchivan. An additional 105-kilometre branch is planned to be constructed as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project.
Georgia will reconstruct a section of the Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Marabda railway, which will increase its capacity to 15 million tons per year. Georgia plans construction of a terminal in Akhalkalaki to transition from the existing tracks to those of Europe.
Initial capacity of the corridor will be 1 million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo. This is expected to grow to a peak capacity of 17 million tons.
Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is in the blockade because Armenia occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands. People arrive in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic by aircrafts or by vehicles through Iran.