Bridge over Samur River to be commissioned soon

By Rasana Gasimova

The car bridge across the Samur River at the state border between Russia and Azerbaijan will open on December 24, 2019, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu has said.

“The opening scheduled for December 24 is not just a grand event: the bridge will serve to intensify trade between the two countries. Our turnover is growing, and as a result, freight traffic is increasing,” he said.

Bulbuloglu noted that the bridge will ensure that cars and buss pass through customs easily.

The bridge is constructed under the agreement signed in between Azerbaijan and Russia August 2013. The construction of the bridge started in 2017.

The new bridge will replace the existing one, which was built in 1957. Each state will operate independently on issues related to the bridge. The bridge will be 325.3 meters long and 17.3 meters wide, the cost of construction on the Azerbaijani territory is estimated at $21.5 million.

Earlier, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin said that the bridge will become an important part of the North-South international transport corridor.

“According to expert estimates, overland freight transit through the territory of Azerbaijan can approach 7 million tons in the medium term, and exceed 13 million tons in the longer term. Moreover, the main part of the transit will be conducted by Russian cargo going to India and Iran and from these countries. In the future, perhaps, the project will involve South and Southeast Asia regions and the Gulf states,” he noted.

Azerbaijan is one of the main economic partners of Russia among the CIS countries and Russia remains one of Azerbaijan’s main foreign trade partners. Interregional cooperation plays an important role in the development of Russian-Azerbaijani trade and economic relations and the increase in the trade turnover.

The recently held 10th Russia-Azerbaijan Interregional Forum held, and the 18th meeting of the Azerbaijani-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation also contributed to further strengthening of mutual cooperation.

As part of the 18th meeting of the Azerbaijani-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, the countries opened a joint pharmaceutical plant and held a groundbreaking ceremony of helicopter maintenance and repair plant.

The countries also cooperate in the spheres of energy, industry, tourism, agricultural and humanitarian and many other areas.

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