Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani company AzerYolServis has completed construction of a 29-kilometer section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway in Georgia.

The last few meters of the rail line from Marabda to Kartsakhi, a branch of the regional railway that is designed to link the Azerbaijani, Georgian and Turkish railway systems, were laid last Wednesday, Trend news agency reported citing the Georgian Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure.

AzerYolServis has also built three railway stations along the route of the trains.

Minister Ramaz Nikolaishvili said that cargo and passengers will be soon transported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.

``This railway is a reality,`` he said. ``We will see this happening soon. Definitely, this is the shortest link between Europe and Asia. We have orders for cargo transportation so that the road will be fully loaded.``

Javid Gurbanov, head of AzerYolServis company operating under the Azerbaijani Transport Ministry, said the railway is the ``construction of the century`` for the countries in the region. ``It is of great importance for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey,`` he added.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is to be fully operational in the first half of 2013. The throughput capacity of the railway will peak at 17 million tons of cargo per year. Initially, the capacity will be 6.5 million tons of consignments and 1 million passengers.

The railway is being built in accord with an inter-governmental agreement reached by Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

In 2007, Azerbaijan allocated a $200 million loan to Georgia for 25 years, with interest rate of one percent, to finance the construction and rehabilitation of the Georgian section of the railway. An agreement to allocate the additional $575 million to the Georgian side was signed in July 2011. These funds were allocated for a period of 25 years, at a rate of five percent.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will increase the flow of containers and other types of cargo from Asia to Europe.

The Marmaris project envisaging the construction of a tunnel under the Bosporus will be implemented, opening a railway link to Europe.