Tunnel construction to be resumed within regional railway project
Baku, April 28 (AZERTAC). Tunnel construction that will connect Georgia and Turkey within the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars regional railway project will resume in May, Georgian Economic Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said.
"As far as I know, tunnel construction must resume in May," he said. "The problems that existed in relation to the protected areas were resolved during the construction process."
He stressed that construction is under way now on the remaining sections of the road.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being built in accordance with an inter-governmental agreement reached by Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The railway will increase the flow of containers and other types of cargo from Asia to Europe. Its throughput capacity will peak at 17 million tons of cargo per year. Initially, the capacity will be 6.5 million tons of consignments and 1 million passengers.
Azerbaijan has allocated a loan worth $775 million for the construction of the Georgian section of the railway. Funding for the project from the State Oil Fund is carried out in accord with the 2007 presidential decree on taking measures within the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project.
In the future, with the completion of the Marmaray project (construction of a tunnel under the Bosporus), a way to Europe will be ensured through the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.
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