The credit rate for construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway may
be reconsidered, Azerbaijani Railways said today, Business Georgia
reports.
The rate may reach 5%. Azerbaijani Railways said that the government
may provide an additional $500 million for the construction. $200
million have already been provided from the state oil fund. The credit
has a 25-year term with an annual interest rate of 1%.
The discussions in Tbilisi on January 25-26 as part of the
coordination council for BTK construction considered the credit
agreement between Azerbaijan and Georgia and credit rate adjustments.
Azerbaijani investment project for the railway section involves
providing 80 million mantas.
Azerbaijani Minister of Transport Ziya mamedov said that the project's
expenses may be reconsidered. The minister did not clarify the new
credit sum.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project involves construction of a
105-kilometer branch, 76 km of it will run through Turkey, 29 -
through Georgia. Georgia will also reconstruct the
Akhalkalaki-Marabda-Tbilisi railway section to improve the freight
capacity to 15 million tons annually. Akhalkalaki will have a facility
to switch from Georgian to European rails.
Azerbaijani Transport Minister Ziya Mamedov had said earlier that
completion of the works is planned for the second half of 2012. The
works are speeding up and may be completed in late 2011. The maximum
capacity of the corridor is 17 million tons of cargo annually. The
initial capacity will be at 1 million passengers and 6.5 million tons
of cargo.
