Baku, Azerbaijan, May 31
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkey will speed up the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway in its territory, said Ahmet Arslan, Turkish minister of transport, maritime and communications.
Arslan said that today he will review the BTK railway's construction in the Kars province in north-eastern Turkey, TRT Haber news channel reported May 31.
The BTK construction project is important both for Turkey and the whole region, noted the minister.
"The BTK will contribute to turning the Kars province into a trade center in Turkey," added Arslan.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being constructed on the basis of the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement.
Azerbaijan has allocated a $775-million loan for the construction of the railway's Georgian section.
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) finances the project in accordance with the Azerbaijani president's decree 'On implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project activities', dated February 21, 2007.
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