Azernews.Az

The major Baku-Tbilisi-Gars railway will turn Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey into one of Eurasia's biggest transport hubs, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said.
Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of the railway's Turkish stretch in the eastern city of Gars on Thursday attended by the three countries' leaders, Aliyev said regional cooperation will further expand with the rail line's commissioning and the protection of all three host countries' interests will be strengthened.
"We will turn into an irreplaceable transport hub for Europe and Asia. This will bring tremendous economic as well as political dividends. We are already witnessing an increasing number of those willing to join such large-scale projects launched by regional states. The use of our infrastructure will certainly bring benefits to each party involved, as this route is the most lucrative way to transport energy resources. It is a project shortening a long transportation route."
President Aliyev said materialization of the project once again demonstrated the firm bonds of cooperation that link the three countries hosting the railway. "Although many disbelieved the realization of these projects [Baku-Tbilisi-Gars railway, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum oil and gas pipelines], our countries today play an important role in ensuring the energy security of European states. We have managed to realize our energy projects and are now linking the transport infrastructure of the three countries. We have achieved these results only thanks to the political will of our countries. The Baku-Tbilisi-Gars project will share the fate of two other large-scale projects - Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum - and our countries will become even closer," Aliyev said.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul, in his remarks, said the transport corridor would revive the historic Silk Road. "Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are making history by creating this corridor, with the Baku-Tbilisi-Gars railway being one of its pages. It is a railway linking China, which lies at the heart of Asia, with the other end - Great Britain in Europe."
Gul called on the Caucasus states to contribute to the project implementation. "The railway project is open for all states in the Caucasus region," he said.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said the project's materialization showed close and solid cooperation among Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.
"The project eternally links all the three countries. We will sign such large-scale projects in the future as well," he said.
After making their statements, the three presidents ascended to the stage and placed symbolic rail models on the map of the region.
Construction of the 76-km rail line in Turkey's territory, which stretches from the border with Georgia to Gars, will be carried out by Turkish Ozgun Yapi and Celikler companies. According to the latest estimates, the operations will cost Turkey $370 million to be allocated by the country's government.
The railway that is considered the "Iron Silk Road" will create the shortest route to transport cargo between Europe and Asia. The deal on the project was reached on February 7, 2007 by Presidents Aliyev and Saakashvili as well as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Construction work started in the Georgian territory in November that year. The work will be done in two stages. Construction of the 26-km Marabda-Kartsakhi rail line under the first stage is currently under way. The railroad was initially to be completed in 2009 but the deadline will not be met. During the second stage, a 160-km section will be upgraded and a station built on the Turkish-Georgian border for the replacement of railway carriages.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Gars railway is to be commissioned by mid-2011. It will allow to transport 5 million tons of mainly dry cargo a year, with the volume to quadruple in the years to come. Passengers will be transported directly from Baku to Turkey as well. The project was initially estimated at $500 million but its cost may rise to $700 million. Operations in the Georgian section of the railway are being carried out on account of a $200 million loan disbursed from Azerbaijan's State Oil Fund for 25 years. Tbilisi will pay the advantageous interest rate of 1% under the credit.
Analysts commenting on the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Gars railway say transportation via the corridor will be cheaper than by other routes. The project stands out for relatively low expenses on transportation, loading and unloading of consignments. The Europe-Asia route will certainly draw the interest of other states. The route will be 60 km shorter than other alternatives, which will allow to save costs on transportation.
The rail line might be a lucrative corridor for Russia in the future as well. Due to the lack of a rail link between Russia and Turkey, Moscow should positively respond to the initiative.
The transport routes used during the Soviet times have ceased to exist due to conflicts that flared up in the South Caucasus region, and Russia therefore could gain from the commissioning of only the Baku-Tbilisi-Gars railway. Thus, cargo will be transported from the north to European and other markets through Turkey and vice versa.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Gars project initially represented "a forbidden fruit" for international financial institutions, and Western ones in particular. US Congress once vetoed its financing by the state-run EximBank. European institutions also noted that implementation of the project would bolster Armenia's economic blockade. However, neither the United States nor Europe put any substantial pressure on the project participants to abandon its realization.