Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 4
By Ali Mustafayev – Trend:
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) is a new transport corridor that unites the railways of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, and becomes an important part of trans-Caspian trade communication.
“The railway directly connects Georgia with Turkey, which will facilitate the opening of the passage to Europe and the Mediterranean Sea by a cheaper and short transport corridor between Europe and Asia,” source in the Ministry for Investment and Development of Kazakhstan told Trend.
The railway will have its influence on volumes and types of cargo transporting through Kazakhstan, in particular an additional inflow of cargo from China is expected, the source added.
Last week, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which connects the railway networks of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, was completed.
The connection of Central Asia through the Caspian Sea with Europe via the BTK railway line is expected to provide a shorter route for transportation of different types of cargo, forming an alternative East-West route.