BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 22
By Sadraddin Aghjayev - Trend:
The construction of the Astara cargo terminal has become one of the major infrastructure projects implemented by the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC within the North-South and South-West routes, Trend reports citing the press service of the Azerbaijan Railways.
The first stage of construction was completed three years ago, and at that time the terminal received the first freight train, said the company.
“This complex includes a dry-cargo terminal and a container site, an administrative building. The construction of a second office building, additional port roads, and a grain terminal are currently underway,” the message reads.
As reported, if the dry cargo terminal and container yard were built at the expense of the Azerbaijan Railways’ funds, then the grain terminal is being built at the expense of foreign investments.
Along with construction work, the terminal is receiving and unloading cargo.
“The total volume of goods transported in the Astara terminal in 2020 amounted to 422,100 tons, or 8,918 wagons, which is 16 percent more than in 2019. So, in 2019, the total volume of goods transported in the Astara terminal amounted to 363,842 tons. These figures show that the volume of cargo passing through the Astara terminal is increasing from year to year. In the future, the volume of cargo passing through this terminal will increase even more. After the completion of all the work, the terminal's carrying capacity at the initial stage will be 1.2 million tons per year, and in the future, it is planned to bring these figures to 3.5 million tons,” the press service of Azerbaijan Railways said.
“Azerbaijan Railways is carrying out work to improve cargo operations. Within these works, a new company was established - Astara Terminal LLC. One of the main functions of the company will be the coordination of work between the various modules of the terminal complex, the centralized reception of goods, and the conduct of operations. The company will act as a single dispatcher fully controlling the movement, loading, and other operations on the tracks inside the terminal, raising it to the level of the cargo station of the Astara terminal. This will contribute to an increase in profitability, carrying capacity, and, as a result, an increase in the volume of cargo transshipment,” said the company.
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