Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 14 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
Tbilisi will host a meeting of transport ministers and working groups as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway project, which is designed to connect the railway systems of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, by late January, a source in the Azerbaijani Transport Ministry said on Friday.
The date of the meeting has not yet been announced.
The meeting will review and discuss the railway's construction and the issue of additional funding for the construction of the Georgian section of the railway.
The Azerbaijani government is willing to provide an extra $500 million to finance the construction of the Georgian section, an Azerbaijan Railways source told Trend earlier.
Earlier, Azerbaijan allocated a $200-million loan from the State Oil Fund of the Azerbaijan Republic to construct the section. The loan covers 25 years with an annual rate of one percent.
A new 105-kilometer railroad branch will be constructed as a part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway. About 76 kilometers will stretch via Turkey, 29 kilometers through Georgia. Moreover, an Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Marabda railway section will be reconstructed in Georgia to increase transport capacity up to 15 million tons of cargo a year. A point of train transition from the existing train tracks in Georgia to the European one is planned to be built in Akhalkalaki.
The construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway, which will connect the railway systems of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, will be completed in the first half of 2012, Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov told Trend earlier.
The corridor's peak capacity will hit 17 million tons. Initially, its capacity will reach 1 million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.