Azernews.Az

Transport ministers and representatives of numerous international groups met in Baku last week for a landmark conference seeking to expand the Europe-Caucasus-Asia transport corridor.
During the conference, devoted to the tenth anniversary of TRACECA and bringing together attendees from over 20 countries, including Armenia, participants looked into ways of extending the transport corridor and developing closer cooperation.
Speakers noted that the implementation of the TRACECA project has been a success. For instance, while nine million tons of cargo was transported via the route in 1998, the volume in 2008 has reached 53 million tons. Further, officials note, the project has created tens of thousands of jobs in area countries.
Jonathan Scheele, the European Commission`s chief negotiator, pledged that the group would continue providing support in financing projects being created through TRACECA, given their great importance both for the region and member states.
Azerbaijani Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov said Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan were now seeking to join the project.
The minister told journalists that the conference was of great importance since it sought to develop the transport corridors of Europe, Asia and the Caucasus; explore the integration of other transport corridors; boost the transportation of consignments via these routes; and increase Azerbaijan`s role in international cargo transportation.
Armenia, which has been left out of major projects as a result of its policy of occupation against Azerbaijan, is also clearly indicating its interest in TRACECA.
Gagik Grigorian, the national secretary of the TRACECA project on Armenia, who attended the meeting, said that like other participants in the project, his country was receiving considerable revenues from the transport corridor.
"As early as when the transport corridor was being created within the TRACECA program, we made the proposal to overhaul the Caucasus region`s transport infrastructure. We are committed to participating in any relevant project and have always wanted this."
Grigorian noted that Armenia was seeking to further integrate into the global economy and was "looking to the future in view of the region`s development."
"I believe that our region currently has a very good, advanced infrastructure. But it is also important to capitalize on this efficiently," he said.
Grigorian thanked the Azerbaijani government and the European Commission for providing suitable conditions for a delegation from his country to attend the TRACECA jubilee event.
Two documents were signed at the conclusion of the conference - a declaration marking the project`s anniversary and a paper on TRACECA`s expansion, integration into European transport corridors and other issues, Azerbaijani First Deputy Prime Minister, Abid Sharifov, told reporters.
The event was attended by representatives of the United Nations, the OSCE, the European Commission, regional groups GUAM and BSEC, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank, and others.
The European Commission-funded project was launched at the initiative of former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev in 1998, with the goal to restore the historic Silk Road. TRACECA`s first summit was held in Baku that same year.
TRACECA is currently composed of 13 states - Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Romania.

Azerbaijan investing
billions in transport
The Azerbaijani government invested $2 billion in the country`s transport sector in 2008, First Deputy Prime Minister Abid Sharifov has said.
"The government is attaching great importance in the development of the transport sector. More specifically, large-scale programs and projects have been adopted and are being implemented to develop the Azerbaijani segment of the TRACECA corridor."
Sharifov went on to say that seven new oil tankers and two ferries, worth $200 million, have been purchased this year to increase maritime transportation through the Europe-Caucasus-Asia corridor.
Furthermore, $500 million has been invested in the development of air transport. The funds were spent to buy four airbuses, six French ATR planes and six helicopters, as well as to build four airports in Azerbaijani regions. Moreover, Azerbaijan has signed a contract to purchase seven Boeing aircraft totaling $726 million.
Sharifov noted that in addition to that, construction of new roads was underway and funded by loans from international financial institutions.
Deputy Minister of Transport Musa Panahov, for his part, said that investments in the development of Azerbaijan`s transport sector are forecast at 1.5 billion manats ($1.85 billion) in 2009.
"The funds will be spent both to complete the ongoing projects and to embark on new ones," he told journalists.
The TRACECA corridor also promises excellent prospects for the development of railway transport, notes officials. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which will create the shortest route to transport cargo between Europe and Asia, will be completed as scheduled, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizada said following a meeting of the inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation in Tbilisi last week.
"True, there were some problems with the creation of the project, but the construction of this railway corridor will be completed in 2010, as planned," he told a joint news conference with Georgian Prime Minister Grigol Mgaloblishvili.
Mgaloblishvili pointed out the magnitude of the railway project noting, "Georgia and Azerbaijan, just like the third party - Turkey - are working hard to ensure that this project, which is of tremendous importance for the entire region, is completed within the scheduled time frame."
Turkish Minister of Transport Binali Yildirim said construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway in his country`s territory has also begun. "There are no problems with construction operations," he said during a visit to Baku last week.
Currently, Turkey is implementing the Marmaray project, which envisions building a tunnel under the Bosporus Straits to create a railway link with other European countries along this route. According to the minister, after the realization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars and Marmaray projects is completed, the routes will be linked in a single line which will allow transport consignments from Asia to Europe along this route.
Participants in the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project have already held talks with China, the key cargo carrier in Asia, and the country has already expressed interest in transporting consignments through the route, Yildirim said.
Experts estimate that about 6.5 million tons of cargo and 1 million passengers will be transported at the initial stage of the project, beginning in 2011. By 2034 the figures will rise to 18 million tons and 3 million passengers.
As part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project, a new 105-km railway line is to be built, of which 76 km will go through Turkey, while 29 km will travel via Georgia. Moreover, a 183 km section of the railway in Georgia, stretching from Akhalkalaki to the capital Tbilisi and continuing through Marabda, will be overhauled in order to increase the railway`s annual throughput capacity to 15 million tons of consignments.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project is valued at $600 million, including expenses on infrastructure-related operations.