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Minister: BTK is the most competitive transit route between the Caspian and Black seas

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev

02 June 2026 15:01 (UTC +04:00)

In October 2017, the presidents of Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Georgia came together at the Alat Port and opened the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway to the world, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev said at the official commissioning ceremony of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line following its modernization at the Akhalkalaki station in Georgia.

He emphasized that a new chapter in the history of Eurasian connectivity was opened at that moment:

“However, that was only the beginning. Such an ambitious corridor requires sustained investment and continuous political will.

Azerbaijan remained committed to this obligation. We invested in the 184-kilometer section of the line passing through Georgian territory: 13 railway stations, 55 bridges, 8 traction substations, and more than 320 buildings and engineering structures were reconstructed in five phases. This was not an ordinary repair project. It was a deliberate and strategic decision to turn the BTK into the true backbone of the Middle Corridor.

The result is evident: the line’s carrying capacity has increased fivefold to 5 million tons per year. Today, the BTK is the most competitive transit route between the Caspian and Black seas.”

Ashraf Mehdiyev

Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway BTK Rashad Nabiyev Azerbaijan Georgia Türkiye Middle Corridor Akhalkalaki railway transport transit route Eurasian connectivity Alat Port logistics infrastructure transportation cargo transport Caspian Sea Black Sea modernization project