Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway: line of peace & prosperity connecting East and West

By Sara Ganjiyeva, AZERNEWS

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway which is a part of the Trans-Caspian transport corridor is an important step for ensuring efficient cooperation between not only Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkiye, but also East and West. A total of 90 percent of the project, which the whole world attaches special importance, has been completed.

It is hoped that the completion of the project will make a big difference in the development of transit and trade in the region, where at the initial stage it is expected that the peak annual capacity of the BTK railway will be approximately 17 million tons of cargo and three million passengers. Besides, by connecting the countries in the region as well as in the east, at the initial stage, it will serve one million passengers and transport 6.5 million tons of cargo.

Many experts are optimistic about this resurgent Silk Road that serves as the most reliable transit route for many countries across the Caspian Sea.

In a comment for AZERNEWS on the issue, economist Eyyub Karimli said that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will have a positive effect on the general economy of the region, and foreign trade relations on tourism will expand and create conditions for the entry of additional income into the country's budget.

"Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line creates great opportunities both for the region and the country. This will have a positive effect on the export potential of our country. Thus, it ensures the expansion of our foreign trade relations and the access of our entrepreneurs to Europe. This will have wide-ranging effects on the entry of additional revenues into the transit and country budgets, and the attraction of large amounts of funds. Undoubtedly, this will have a fundamental and positive impact on economic development," the economist said.

Eyyub Karimli emphasized that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line will also contribute to cargo transportation and logistics in the non-oil sector, new jobs will be created and this will have a positive effect on the economy.

"On the other hand, it goes without saying that this will also strengthen the East-West, North-South integration of the local railway lines. This will increase the cargo transportation and logistics capabilities of the countries in the region, which in turn will greatly contribute to the opening of new jobs and new economic opportunities. Using unique methods in cargo transportation, the North-South, East-West cargo flow through our country will give a great impetus to the development of the non-oil sector and the expansion of transportation and logistics opportunities," Eyyub Karimli said.

The economist noted that foreign currency income in the country's budget will increase and export opportunities will have a strong impact on the economy. He added that the expansion of tourism and transport sectors in the economy will create new opportunities for local and foreign entrepreneurs.

"Also, it will cause a significant increase to the country's budget in the tariffs and duties of goods passing through the Silk Road Customs Checkpoint. With this, the foreign currency income in the budget of our country will increase, and it will strengthen the wide export opportunities and economic relations in all three directions. Our entrepreneurs will play a big role in bringing the flow from Russia to Europe. This will undoubtedly create conditions for the expansion of foreign economic circulation of local entrepreneurs. From this point of view, I believe that entrepreneurs from other countries will give special attention to investment opportunities in our country. With this, let's expand these areas of the economy - tourism, transport, and service areas. In the future, it will make its positive contribution to the transportation related to cargo transportation, as well as the wide opportunities of warehouses," the analyst added.