Azerbaijan, Baku, September 3 /Trend, A. Taghiyeva/
Turkey proposes that its neighboring countries carryout highway modernization and standardization, Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs, and Communications Binali Yildirim said, TRT Haber reported on Tuesday.
"We will hold a working meeting with transport ministers from almost 25 countries, including Azerbaijan,Georgia and Iraq in order to discuss cooperation in the sphere of modernization of road infrastructure," the minister said.
He also noted that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, which is being successfully implemented, plays an important role in developing the cooperation between the region's countries.
"Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project together with "Marmaray" project will change the history of trade relations between West and East," Yildirim noted.
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.