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Azerbaijan will deliver a $100 million tranche of loan to Georgia next year

18 September 2008 15:24 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev â€“ APA-Economics. On the behalf of the government, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) will deliver the next tranche of the planned loan to Georgia for Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Rail Link Project.
Shahmar Movsumov, Executive Director of the Fund, said the first tranche of $30 million has been delivered to Georgia earlier.
He added that happenings in Georgia made the Coordination Council to reschedule the planned completion of construction works in Georgia to 2010 from 2009.
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.