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Azerbaijan Railways expect growth of domestic freight

14 October 2016 11:22 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijan Railways expect growth of domestic freight

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan Railways, aiming to increase the cargo transportation in local and regional terms, plans to transport 1.7-1.8 million tons of cargo within the country.

Head of Azerbaijan Railways Javid Gurbanov announced about this at an event dedicated to railway workers’ holiday on October 13, further stating that the development of the railway sector should be continued gradually.

“In 2014, 21.8 million tons of cargo was transported via railway in Azerbaijan, and about 5 million tons of them accounted for domestic transportation,” Gurbanov noted, adding that the large volume of traffic was also related to the recovery in the construction sector.

He emphasized that the main goal of Azerbaijan Railways is to see 50-percent rise in freight traffic volume and increase by two or three times wages of railway workers.

“It is important to boost positions, thus we are opening representative offices in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Georgia,” Gurbanov said.

The ongoing global economic crisis affected freight traffic and its volume decreased. “More than 17 million tons of cargo was transported in Azerbaijan in 2015, about 2.3 million tons of which accounted for domestic transportation,” he said, adding that during the eight months of 2016, total volume of freight traffic amounted to 15.5 million tons.

Gurbanov also noted that incorrect tariff policy, conducted earlier, had a negative impact on the volume of goods transported through Azerbaijan. “However, we managed to solve this problem – the regress slowed down slightly and now the increase is observed in freight traffic.”

He further expressed regret that Azerbaijani producers do not manufacture production for the railroad. “They should be more active on production of spare parts and other items for railroad,” Gurbanov said.

“We have to purchase all we need from abroad – none of the items is produced in Azerbaijan. Similar products may be produced in the country’s local factories, and it is necessary to explore such possibilities,” Gurbanov said at the event. He mentioned that the vast majority of items are purchased from Russia, but their production in Azerbaijan is quite possible. “Unfortunately, no one thinks about this.”

Gurbanov said that he repeatedly addressed to local producers and offered to begin production of such goods, however, no one responded. “There is no such plant in Azerbaijan, which would produce, for example, motors for electric locomotives and other parts. And those parts that are produced are either of poor quality, or very expensive, or do not suit us at all", the head of JSC noted.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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