State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) allocated USD 631.79 million to finance the construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway (BTK).
Based on the agreement signed by Azerbaijan and Georgia, funds were transferred through the International Bank of Azerbaijan to Marabda-Kartsakhi Railways, the division established for the design, construction, rehabilitation, reconstruction and exploitation of Marabda rail section to the border with Turkey and other infrastructure facilities.
In the first half of this year, SOFAZ granted USD 1.56 million to feasibility studies for project implementation.
Total loans allocated by Azerbaijan for the construction of the Georgian section of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars section amounted to USD 775 million.
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is a corridor that will connect the railway networks of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The main objective of the project is to improve the economic relations between the three countries and to get direct foreign investments by connecting Europe to Asia.
It is estimated that in the first phase, after the inauguration in 2018, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars will carry 1 million passengers and 6.5 million tonnes of freight. In 2020, transport shares will reach 3 million passengers and 17 million tonnes of goods.
Meanwhile, the logistics centre built in the Turkish city of Kars, part of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail project will be commissioned in October 2018. Every year, 412,000 tonnes of goods will cross the new logistics centre built on 300,000 square metres.
Share on:
