Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 2
By Ali Mustafayev – Trend:
Last week, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway (BTK), which connects the railway networks of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, was completed.
The length of the railway is 826 kilometers. The project is considered to be beneficial not only for Caucasus, but also for the Central Asian region.
Those behind the project forecast creation of a railway junction Central Asia – Europe, after the accession of the Aktau ports of Kazakhstan and Turkmenbashi of Turkmenistan into the BTK in the future.
The connection of Central Asia through the Caspian Sea with Europe via the BTK railway line may indeed provide a shorter route for transportation. It will form an alternative East-West route.
The basis for this kind of cooperation between the countries was created after the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov during his official visit to Tashkent in October 17, 2016. The two ministers discussed the restoration of the historic Silk Road, and the great potential of the Baku-Tbilisi- Kars, stressing favorable opportunities for Uzbekistan to take advantage of it.
The operation of the BTK rail network will allow regular transportation of goods from Turkey and Europe to the countries of Central Asia and China, and vice versa.
The use of this highway by Uzbekistan, from the "Navoi" logistics hub through the ports of the Caspian Sea to Baku and further Tbilisi-Kars-Southern Europe is a very promising area for the economic cooperation between the countries of Central Asia, Caucasus and Europe.
The issue of the Uzbek shippers will only hinge on the "price-quality" ratio, but considering that Uzbekistan is in the center of the Silk Road to China and can use its capabilities as a transit country, the benefits become obvious.
The BTK railway bases on the Azerbaijani-Georgian-Turkish interstate agreement. The maximum volume of cargo transportation along the BTK corridor is projected at the level of 17 million tons of cargo per year. At the initial stage, this indicator will be at the level of one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo per year.
After the first three years of the railway’s operation, the volume of transporting cargo will increase to 3 million tons, after five years - 5 million tons or more, after 10 years - the level of transporting cargo is expected to reach 10 million tons or more.
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