ANKARA: The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project, the most-anticipated regional railway link, will be completed in the first half of 2017, said Ahmad Arslan, Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of Turkey. “Currently active work on construction of the railway is underway. If we take into account the complexity of the winter period, we plan to complete the construction work in March or April,” APA quoted the minister as saying. Talking about the difficulties in the implementation of the project, the Turkish minister said that the lawsuits and discontent led to project delays. “Because of the discontent that emerged after the start of tendering procedures, the project is implemented with a delay of one year, but due to litigation — three years,” Arslan clarified.
Being constructed on the basis of the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement, BTK is expected to expand multi-modal transportation opportunities, ensure the growth of passenger and freight transportation and boost the transit potential of the regional countries. The project is of great significance for not only Azerbaijan and the region, but also for the entire Eurasia. 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.
