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Azerbaijani, Georgian and Turkish transport ministers will meet in Istanbul

10 April 2009 16:58 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov - APA-Economics. Azerbaijani, Georgian and Turkish Ministers of Transport will son meet in Istanbul, said Azerbaijanâ€™s Ministry of Transport.

The meeting will focus on Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) rail way project. The parties will also discuss the plan of this project for this year.

The three countries agreed in February 2007 to build a rail line linking the Azerbaijani capital Baku, the Georgian capital Tbilisi and the Turkish city of Kars. Construction work commenced on November 21, 2007.

As per the agreement, Azerbaijan undertook to extend a $200mln loan to Georgiaâ€™s Marabda-Kartsakhi Railroad LLC for 25 years at 1% interest rate annually. The loan will be spent on construction of a 29km long railroad in Georgia, a ST-2 wheel base in Turkish-Georgian border and rehabilitation of old railway.

The project costs more than $600 million. Construction of railroads is slated for operation in late 2011.
A 76km long railway will be laid in Turkey as part of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Rail Link.