Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 26 / Trend E. Ismayilov /
Around 11 million manat was allocated for the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail project from the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) in 2013, SOFAZ head Shahmar Movsumov told media today.
According to him, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail project is being successfully implemented. It is one of the major projects financed by the State Oil Fund.
"The financing of this project will be continued in 2014," Movsumov said. Commissioning of the railway is planned for next year.
It is planned to construct a new 105 kilometre 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 is expected, 30 million tons of cargo per year will be transported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars highway which will have a direct route to the European railway network.
With completion of the Marmaray project which is the construction of a tunnel under Bosphorus, a route to Europe will be provided via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.