BTK to be commissioned in 2017

By Azernews

By Nigar Abbasova

The implementation of the long anticipated Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project is on track. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yilditim said that the railway will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2017.

During a meeting with his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Yildirim said that the project is currently in the final phase.

Kvirikashvili, in turn, said that Tbilisi will spare no effort for speedy completion of the project. He underlined that the project is a major point in the cooperation between Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Being constructed under a Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement, BTK is expected to expand multi-modal transportation opportunities, ensure the growth of passenger and freight transportation and boost the transit potential of the regional countries.

Meanwhile, Logistics Centre in Turkish Kars province which is expected to provide cargo operations within BTK will have a capacity of 412,000 tons of freight a year, Yenisafak newspaper reported.

The total area of the centre will amount to nearly 350,000 square meters, while some 500 new working places will be created there.

The project is expected to be commissioned by mid 2017 with the initial bandwidth capacity of 6.5 million tons, while the volumes may reach some 35 million tons a year in medium term perspective.

Moreover, a 6 kilometer length branch line from Kars-Erzurum railway is currently under construction to provide an access to the centre. Also, the centre will be also engaged in the service and maintenance operations for freight and passenger trains. Turkey places huge emphasis on the project, as it will contribute to turning its Kars province into a trade center. 

“Freight traffic from Asia to Europe amounts to 240 million tons, the construction of the centre will be sound and reasonable even if only 10 percent of the volume passes through the territory of Turkey. Transportation of freight is expected to be carried out in speedier manner after implementation of Ankara-Kars railway,” the newspaper said.