BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 6. Turkish media outlets informed this week about transportation of 2.4 million tons of cargo via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway route since it first was commissioned, Trend reports.
According to the media, cargo transportation by the BTK railway amounted to 691,000 tons in 2022 alone.
Minister of Digital Development and Transportation of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev said this week that the demand for transportation through the country in the short term will amount to $23 million over the next five years, and if Azerbaijan continues investing in infrastructure, it will be able to increase the volume of transportation through the country to $45 million.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov noted that the development of transport corridors in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan from Armenian occupation will give a great impetus to regional cooperation.
According to Sharifov, there is great potential for the development of green energy zones and renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan's Karabakh and East Zangazur Economic Regions, and therefore Azerbaijan will play an important role in the energy supply of Europe and the countries of the region in the future.
Besides, this week, Director of Haydar Aliyev Eurasian Studies Center of Ibn Haldun University in Türkiye Yasar Sari said that the Zangazur corridor will benefit not only Azerbaijan and Türkiye, but also the entire Turkic world.
According to the expert, the Zangazur corridor will also be beneficial, in particular, to China in the framework of its global initiative One Belt, One Road and the EU, which seeks to establish transit traffic at the global level.
Secretary General of the Permanent Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Commission TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia) Asset Assavbayev said that Turkmenistan will join TRACECA corridor by the end of the year.
According to Assavbayev, from a legal point of view, the work has been completed, and all TRACECA member countries have expressed their readiness to accept this country into the organization.
Speaking about the possible dates of Turkmenistan's entry into TRACECA, Assavbayev noted that the country will join the organization in the fall of 2023.
Nabiyev noted this week that work is underway to purchase modern public vehicles and new control systems for them to expand the transport infrastructure of Azerbaijani cities.