In 2009 the transport sector of Azerbaijan described itself as a particular developing economic infrastructure. In 2009, 1.582 billion manat was allocated to the transport infrastructure. These funds were spent on building and reconstructing roads of republican importance, road junction, pedestrian subways, bridges over rivers in the regions, new and existing metro stations, and new ferries and tankers, buses, railway cars and metro cars, special equipment were acquired.
In 2009, cargo transportation by vehicles made up 189.8 million tons of cargo or 3.7% more than 2008. The cargo turnover increased by 10.1 percent. The private sector share in cargo transportation was 73.7% due to efficient operation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
In 2009, automobile transport took the lion share in the transport field of the country. The cargo transportation by vehicles made up 94.2mln tons of cargo, or 7.1% more than the same period of 2008. Passenger transportation comprised 1.1bln people with 96.6% people using buses and 3.4% people vehicles.
One of the reasons for the growth of road transport is improvement after the reconstruction of the road.
In 2009, the Azerbaijan State Railway Department (ASRD) transported 20.3mln tons of cargo, a decrease of 25.9% compared to 2008. The number of loaded carriages made up 631 in average and unloaded - 487. Average daily load of carriages in the northern direction is 29,700 tons and in western direction - 3,800, but in the southern direction - 2,700.
This sharp decline was caused by the decrease in the transport of oil, which makes up the main part of the goods transported. Also decline occurred due to the reduction of transit cargos and the repair work.
The cargo shipping via sea rose by 10.9% to 13.2 million tons. Transportation of the Kazakh oil also affected the increase. Presently, deliveries are carried out by three Azerbaijani and two Kazakh tankers.
¾ part of cargo deliveries fell on oil and oil products, while ¼ on dry cargo. All cargo deliveries were implemented under the international operations. The volume of cargo processed in Azerbaijani ports was 5.1 million tons in 2009, or 5.5 percent less as compared to last year figure. As of January 1, 2010, 18,600 tons of cargo left in the ports for import, which is 2 times less compared to last year.
In 2009, the export via oil pipelines made up 50.5 million tons. During this period, ¾ part or 38.2 million tons of oil was transported via the BTC, which is 16.4 percent more compared to 2008. At the same time in 2009 Kazakh oil transportation via the BTC, which began in October 2008, continued its increase. The transportation made up 1.9 million tons. In general, the transportation via oil pipelines increased by 13.7 percent.
Transportation via gas pipelines made up 11.6mln tons, or 2.5% more than 2008. The major reason for the growth is the export of the Azerbaijani gas to the foreign markets. One third of the transported gas fell on South Caucasus Pipeline. About 5.2 billion cubic meters of gas was transported via this pipeline in 2009.
In 2009, the passenger transportation via airways fell by 32.8% to 941,200 people, including 10.2% implemented by private sector. Greater part (89.8%) fell on public sector. The decline occurred because on July 2, international airport named after Heydar Aliyev completely stopped the flights in night. However, this decision did not affect the decrease in the volume of passenger traffic, moreover, in July 2009 was transported 15.8 percent more passengers than the previous month. The main goal of stopping night flights is to ensure comfort and tranquility for the residents of Baku, where the airport is located. Flights from the airport in all directions are carried out from 07:00 in the morning until 12:00 in night.
Metro remains the most popular and profitable modes of transport. The Baku Metro conveys 550,000-560,000 passengers per day on average. It conveys around 700,000 passengers on working days.
In 2009, 206.1mln passengers used metro services or 2.9% rise. The Tariff Council made a decision to increase fare at the Baku Metro by 3 times - from 0.05 manat to 0.15 manat from October 1, 2009.
Considering the annual transportation of about 200 million passengers, it is expected that due to the increase fares at the Baku Metro, additional $20 million manat will be received anually. However, this does not cover the full operating costs of the Baku Metro, and the state will continue to subsidize its operating costs and capital investments.