Baku, Azerbaijan, July 13
By Maksim Tsurkov, Orkhan Guluzade – Trend:
Turkey plans to build a logistics center in its Kars province within the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project, said Turkey’s Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication Ahmet Arslan.
Arslan made the remarks before his meeting with the head of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC Javid Gurbanov, Haberturk newspaper reported July 13.
The minister said the construction of the BTK railway will be completed until the end of 2016.
“With the implementation of the Marmaray project for development of Istanbul’s railway network, the Great Silk Road’s railway segment will be continuous, allowing directly transporting raw materials and finished goods from Central Asia through Azerbaijan and Turkey to Europe,” explained Arslan.
The BTK project will further strengthen social, humanitarian and economic relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan, he added.
The minister also noted that once the BTK railway is commissioned, it will transport three million tons of cargo a year, but the figure can rise up to 17 million tons and more in a short period of time.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being constructed on the basis of the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement.
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