Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway to boost regional trade

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, an important part of the “Iron Silk Road” that is to connect China to European countries, will not only provide uninterrupted transport service but will triple trade volume in the region, an Azerbaijani economist has said.“The materialization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway that will be completed by next year will not only solidify trilateral relations between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia, but also will increase regional trade three times in volume,” said Zaur Veliyev, an economist with the Baku-based Strategic Research Center operating under the Presidency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, at a conference titled “Iron Silk Road: Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway” on Wednesday held in Ankara as part of “Azerbaijan Week in Turkey.”The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is to be completed by 2014. Azerbaijan gives it special importance due to its potential to make the region -- and Azerbaijan itself -- a transit center of the historic Silk Road. So far $445.2 million has been invested in the railway project, which is expected to be able to carry between 10 and 17 million tons of cargo in its first stage.Veliyev said that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project is a component of Azerbaijan's development plan and part of the country's modern vision.“Azerbaijan is making money from oil and is directing these earnings to non-oil sectors of the economy in order to help the country become a non-oil-dependent, modern economy. Of course the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is also part of this long-range vision and will significantly contribute to regional integration that underlies both the development of Azerbaijan and other economies in the region,” Veliyev noted, adding that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project will stimulate the region into becoming a competitive economic region that benefits all actors involved, including investors, consumers and nations.(todayszaman.com)ANN.Az