Freight traffic from Kazakhstan, China via BTK may go up to 500,000 containers
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 19
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
An agreement was signed as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project in order to establish a logistics center in Kars, said Javid Gurbanov, chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC.
He made the remarks July 19 during familiarization with the construction work carried out in the Kars province, the TRT Haber news channel reported.
Gurbanov said that private entrepreneurs will be able to annually send two million tons of goods with preferences via the BTK railway. “And the volume of cargo transportation on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route will be increased in the future,” he added.
According to him, the BTK project will ensure the region’s development.
“The BTK is a historical project and it is important for each participating country of this corridor,” noted Gurbanov. “Given that the BTK’s Georgian sector passes through the mountainous part of the country, it will also contribute to the development of economy of this part of the country.”
The chairman also expressed hope that the cargo transportation from Kazakhstan and China via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will increase up to 500,000 containers a year in the future.
The BTK railway is being constructed on the basis of the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. The peak capacity of the railway will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At the initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.
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