Azernews.Az

Turkey proposes its neighboring countries to carry out highway modernization and standardization, Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs, and Communications Binali Yildirim said, TRT Haber reported .

"We will hold a working meeting with transport ministers from almost 25 countries, including Azerbaijan,Georgia and Iraq in order to discuss cooperation in the sphere of modernization of road infrastructure," he said.

He went on to say that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, which is being successfully implemented, plays an important role in developing the cooperation between the region's countries.

"Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project together with "Marmaray" project will change the history of trade relations between West and East," Yildirim noted.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being built in accordance with an inter-governmental agreement reached by Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The railway will increase the flow of containers and other types of cargo from Asia to Europe. Its throughput capacity 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.

Azerbaijan has allocated a loan worth $775 million for the construction of the Georgian section of the railway. Funding for the project from the State Oil Fund is carried out in accord with the 2007 presidential decree on taking measures within the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project.

In the future, with the completion of the Marmaray project (construction of a tunnel under the Bosporus), a way to Europe will be ensured through the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.