Development of transport infrastructure continues to remain one of priorities of economic strategy of the Azerbaijani government. Increased attention is paid to the country's regions.
In 2012 the total length of constructed and repaired roads in Azerbaijan hit 537.2 kilometres. Of the total volume of constructed and repaired roads, 134.6 kilometres accounted for roads of republican importance, 402.6 kilometers - roads of local importance.
In the first quarter of 2013 work on the construction and reconstruction of road infrastructure, and in particular, rural roads, continued. Executive bodies of the regions allocate significant amount of funds for this purposes.
Three sites are being considered for the construction of a new airport in the northern region of Azerbaijan, chief architect of Guba region Fikret Gurbanov said. He said that in particular, one site in Khachmaz and two sites in Guba are being considered as possible locations for the new airport. At present, these areas are being examined and soil from the proposed areas is analyzed.
The Kharkov-Baku-Kharkov flight, opened with the support of the Kharkov Regional Organisation of the Congress of Azerbaijanis of Ukraine, to be operated by UTair-Ukraine airline. The Kharkov region is one of the largest industrial regions of Ukraine. It is also home to more than 30,000 Azerbaijanis.
In January-March 2013, the transport sector in Azerbaijan transported 48.4 million tons, which is 1.4 percent more than the same period of 2012. Of the total volume of goods transported in January-March, 71.1percent fell to the private sector.
Some 51.8 percent of all cargo was transported by road, 30.2 percent - by pipelines, 11.4 percent - by railway and 6.6 percent - by sea.
Some 390.1 million people used transport in January-March, which is 7.9 percent more than the same period of 2012. Most of the passengers were transported by road transport (86.9 percent) and metro (12.8 percent).
Automobile transport takes the lion share in the transport field of the country. Some 25.1 million tons of cargo was transported by road transport, which is 7.5 percent more than in January-March 2012. The volume of passenger traffic totaled 339.2 million (increase by 8.4 percent). Some 96.2 percent of the passengers were transported by buses and 3.8 percent - by cars.
Freight turnover by road during the period grew by 7.6 percent during the reporting period, and passenger turnover - by 9.3 percent.
In January-March this year, some 5.5 million tons of cargo were transported by rail, compared to 5.4 million tons in January-March 2012.
The number of loaded carriages made up 694, in average per day and unloaded - 507. Average daily load of carriages in the northern direction is 28,000 tons and in western direction 5,900 tons and southern direction - 5,000 tons.
Maritime transport carried 3.2 million tons of cargo compared to 3.3 million tons in January-March 2012. All cargo accounted for international operations. The volume of goods handled in ports in Azerbaijan in January-March amounted to 3.4 million tons, or 4.1 percent more than the same period last year.
Some 62.2 percent of cargo shipping fell on oil and oil products, while 37.8 percent on dry cargo. Volume of international transit cargos processed in January-March increased by 5.8 percent. As of April 1, 2013, 12,400 tons of cargo left in the ports for import, which is 56.2 percent less compared to the same period of last year.
In January-March, the export via oil pipelines made up 10.7 million tons. During this period, 76.1 percent or 8.1 million tons of oil was transported via the BTC (data provided by the State Statistics Committee). In January-March Sangachal terminal transported 774,700 tons of Turkmen oil via BTC.
Transportation via gas pipelines made up 5.4 billion cubic meters in January-March. Some 17.7 percent of the transported gas fell on South Caucasus Pipeline. Some 0.96 billion cubic meters of gas was transported via this pipeline.
Some 349,800 passengers were transported by air transport, which is 12.4 percent more than in January-March 2012. Some 1.6 percent of traffic by this kind of transport fell to private sector. The volume of cargo transportation by air in January-March amounted to 26,100 increasing by 2.4 times.
Some 50.1 million people were transported by metro (a 5.5 percent growth compared to the same period of last year).
Some 9.7 million tons of cargo was transported through the Eurasian transport corridor through the territory of Azerbaijan in January-February, which is 4.7 percent more than in January-February 2012. Some 46.2 million people were transported through the corridor, which is 7.4 percent more than the same period of 2012.