Date of commissioning BTK railway unknown for present – Turkish ministry

Baku, Azerbaijan, July 1 By Rufiz Hafizoglu– Trend: The date of commissioning Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is unknown for the present, Turkish Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications told Trend July 1. There are several problems regarding the agreement on construction of BTK, said the ministry without specifying the problems. It was earlier reported that it is planned to complete the project’s implementation in 2015. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being constructed on the basis of the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) finances the project in accordance with the Azerbaijani president’s decree 'On the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project activities' dated February 21, 2007. A new 105-kilometer branch of the railroad is being constructed as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project. In addition, the railway's Akhalkalaki-Marabda-Tbilisi section is under reconstruction in Georgia that will increase its capacity to 15 million metric tons of cargo per year. A depot is under construction in Akhalkalaki for the transition of trains from the existing tracks in Georgia to the European ones. The peak capacity of the corridor will be 17 million metric tons of cargo per year. At the initial stage, this figure will be equal to one million passengers and 6.5 million metric tons of cargo. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Follow us on Twitter @TRENDNewsAgency