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Friday,
August 3,
2007, #147 (1414) Trabzon port authorities are interested in joining the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railroad project, writes the news agency Regnum. Chetin Nukhoglu, head of the Communication and Logistics Department of the Union of Turkish Commerce Chambers and Exchanges, stated that Trabzon would benefit from having a direct rail link to Central Asia and China. The Trabzon-Batumi railroad is not sufficient, he said, stressing the trade potential of Trabzon, the biggest sea port on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Meanwhile, on July 31 the Georgian company Marabda-Kartsakhi Railroads LLC announced an international tender for a feasibility study into the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the 153-kilometer Marabda-Akhalkalaki section of the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railroad. Experts suggest the repair of this key section alone, which is expected to be completed sometime between 2008 and 2010, could increase the capacity of the railroad to 15 million tons. Multilateral agreements to begin development on the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railroad were signed between Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey on February 7. The overall project involves construction of a new rail link between Kars and Akhalkalaki, as well as the repair of existing lines in the region. This will be the first direct rail connection between Turkey and Azerbaijan. The total cost is expected to be at least USD 400 million. Connecting the
Caucasian and Asian railroad systems is expected to provide greater
potential for transcontinental trade and to increase the Chinese presence
in the South Caucasus, as it improves the East-West transportation corridor
along the ancient Silk Road line.
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Trabzon wants
to join Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railroad project