Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line is a small line compared to the great global projects, but it is a key segment for the transcontinental transport corridor that will significantly increase the international transport competitiveness and transit capacity of countries in the region. The railway line will also help develop an integrated railway freight transport network between Europe and Asia.
T he construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is supported by the presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. In 2005, the representatives of the three countries signed the project development agreement. Construction works were launched at the end of 2007 and initial estimates on traffic launch were made for 2010. Technical problems and the conflict between Georgia and Russia in 2008 caused delays in the project and the line is currently expected to become operational in 2012.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line project includes the construction of 29 km of line in Georgia and 76 km of line in Turkey. For increasing freight transport capacity to 15 million tonnes per year, the project includes the reconstruction of the 160-km long Akhalkalaki-Marabda-Tbilisi line (in Georgia). For Azerbaijan, the line development implies the reconstruction of a railway segment for which a USD 215 Million grant was allocated.
Because of the different types of gauges in Georgia, the former soviet and European countries, the Akhalkalaki station will be built.
According to the Secretary of State from the Georgian Ministry of Transport Musa Panahov, the first train to travel on this line will be launched by the end of 2012. “Line sections in Turkey are already finalized and works are going on according to plans”, said Musa Panahov.
For developing the project in Georgia, Azerbaijan has initially granted a USD 200 Million loan for the carrying out the
Marabda-Karsakhi section and in 2011, Georgia received another credit from the Azerbaijani Government (through the Azerbaijan National Oil Fund – SOFAZ) worth USD 575 Million. The financing is dedicated to the construction of the 29-km line, the construction of a stop point at the Turkish border and to the reconstruction of the existing line.
“Georgia initiates works under plans and more than 50% of works are finalized which can be considered a success. The Georgian party has to build 29 km of line and a tunnel of 4.5 km”, said the Georgian Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Ramaz Nikolaishvili, at a conference which debated the line project development.
The line has a major importance for Azerbaijan as “currently, if we consider the railway and motorway lines built within the Bosporus project, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars will allow Azerbaijan to have a direct route to Europe”, declared in June 2011 Ziya Mammadov, the Azerbaijani Minister of Transport.
After the finalization of the project, a volume of freight of 6.5 million tonnes could be shipped on rails, while the number of passengers will reach 1 million. Long-term estimates show that by 2030 the line should carry 17 million tonnes of freight per year.
Moreover, in July 2011, during a reunion of the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan with the Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev, the former said that “the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project has a major importance especially for the region and the line should be extended. In a first phase, a link to Central Asia should be built. This objective, as well as the implementation of such a project, strengthens the economic relationships of the involved countries”, concluded Turkey’s Prime Minister.
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