Director General of the South Caucasus Railways (SCR), Shevket Shaydullin, and Director General of Black Sea Ferry and Investment, Khokim Matchanov, have signed a deal on regulation of railway freighting, News Armenia reports.
The SCR will assist the BFI in providing trains and organizing freighting via railway.
The SCR is a national transport company interested in development of strategic cooperation with the Black Sea Ferry and Investment, an operator of the Caucasus – Port Poti – Port Caucasus ferry line, the main freighting line of Armenia.
The BFI is an operator of such ferry lines as the Caucasus – Poti and Caucasus – Samsun (Turkey) on the Black Sea and the Ust Luga – Baltiysk and Ust Luga – Zasnits (Germany) line on the Baltic Sea, where the SMAT, FERUZ and Petersburg railway ferries operate.
The international transport corridor Caucasus – Port Poti – Armenia allow low-cost freighting to the republic. SMAT realizes rail freighting, using 50 tanks (50 grain carriers) or 40 universal covered carriages, 21,220 feet containers. BFI carries out an average of 40 round trips on the Caucasus – Poti line annually, transporting some 1500 carriages in both directions.
South Caucasus Railways is a 100% subsidiary of Russian Railways. Armenian Railways was put under concessional management of the SCR, according to a deal signed on February 13, 2008. The document stays in force for 30 years and may be prolonged by 10 more.
