Azerbaijan, Baku, August 1 / Trend, A. Akhundov /
The construction of a tunnel through the Georgian-Turkish border will begin as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project in the near future, Chairman of "Azerbaijan Railways" company Arif Asgarov's article said on Thursday.
"The equipment and machinery were delivered for the construction of the tunnel, designed to connect Georgia and Turkey," he said. "The construction work is planned to be launched in the near future."
Landslide affected areas were revealed during construction. So, the tunnel route has been changed.
"Earlier, the project entailed the laying of a 1.2 kilometer tunnel," he added. "Its length was increased to 2.07 kilometers."
It is planned to construct a new 105 kilometer branch of the railway. Moreover, the Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Marabda railway in Georgia will be reconstructed, which will increase its capacity to 15 million tons of cargo per year. It is also planned to construct a station for transporting trains from the existing tracks in Georgia to the European one.
As it is expected, 30 million tons of cargo per year will be transported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars highway, which will have a direct way to the European railway network.
With completion of the "Marmaray" project (the construction of tunnel under Bosphorus) realization, a way to Europe will be provided via Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.