Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 5 /Trend E. Kosolapova/
The construction of the Caspian segment of fiber-optic cable line TASIM can be fully funded by Azerbaijan, executive director on infrastructure projects of the project participant - Kazakh company KazTransCom Alexander Kislitsin told Trend over phone on Wednesday.
"There is a desire of the Azerbaijani side to fully finance the construction of Trans-Caspian underwater cable line. We (the company KazTransCom) approve business plan for the year ahead, and the money for the project can be put in the budget only after a year. This situation does not suit anyone. There is a party, in this case, Azerbaijan, which is interested in the early realization of the project. Azerbaijan expressed readiness to find and attract investment capital for the project," Kislitsin said.
At the same time, he noted, the operators of the project plan to rely on their own resources on the remaining sections of the line.
Kislitsin added that terms of construction of the Caspian segment of fiber-optic cable are depending on the time of the ratification of bilateral agreements.
"Currently, the agreement on the implementation of the work is being coordinated and will go for ratification to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Communications, probably in the near future," he said.
Kislitsin added that unresolved question of the legal status of the Caspian Sea should not prevent the implementation of the project. In addition, the cable will be laid in the center of Azerbaijani-Kazakh borders and will be far from any disputed areas, and the border between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan is clearly defined by the resolution in 2003.
"Our lawyers and attorneys of the Azerbaijani side picked up a package of documents that allow to say that the project is possible," he said.
Kislitsin added that today a number of countries have expressed a desire to join the TASIM project.
The TASIM project includes such countries as Russia (Rostelecom operator), Kazakhstan (KazTransCom operator), Turkey (TurkTelecom operator), China (ChinaTelecom operator), as well as Azerbaijani Azertelekom.
TASIM project has been initiated by Azerbaijan. Its implementation will eliminate "information gap" between the countries of Western Europe and the Pacific basin.
