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Preparation underway for Marabda–Akhalkalaki railway

By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dudnua)
Wednesday, April 23
Ukrainian specialists are preparing construction plans for the Marabda–Akhalkalaki section of the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars project, according to Sadradin Mamedov, a representative of the Azerbaijani Transport Ministry.

The Baku–Tbilisi–Kars project, connecting Azerbaijan with Georgia and Turkey, was billed by President Mikheil Saakashvili as a “geopolitical revolution” at the inauguration ceremony of its construction in Marabda last year.

Building works on the 160 kilometer Marabda–Akhalkalaki section are due to begin by the end of this year.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be around USD 600 million and it is scheduled to begin operating in 2011, according to the news agency Regnum.