Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has said the completion of the Georgian section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will take another two years.
"I am currently convinced that the construction of our section will not be completed either this or next year...but only in two years," Saakashvili said after visiting a construction site in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region.
"I had intended at the end of my presidency to open the railway by the end of 2013, but unfortunately this will not happen," the president said. "The completion of the railway and of the port Lasik meant that turnover during the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan would go through Georgia," Saakashvili said. In this regard, the President said that Georgia has missed its chance.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being built in accordance with an inter-governmental agreement reached by Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The railway will increase the flow of containers and other types of cargo from Asia to Europe.
Azerbaijan has allocated a loan worth $775 million for the construction of the Georgian section of the railway. Funding for the project from the State Oil Fund is carried out in accord with the 2007 presidential decree on taking measures within the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project.
