Kars-Akhalkalaki-Baku railway project likely to be signed in February

PanARMENIAN.Net - The final intergovernmental agreement on construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki-Kars (BTAK) railway link is expected to be concluded in February. Azerbaijan Transport Ministry said the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are scheduled to meet in Tbilisi to sign three documents - a framework agreement, terms agreement and loan agreement. The Ministry described the discussions held by the Azeri and Georgian delegations as fruitful. The parties agreed on the amount and procedure of the loan Azerbaijan is going to lend to Georgia for funding construction of Georgian part of the railway line. As per the agreement, Azerbaijan is going to extend a $200 mln unsecured loan to Georgia's Marabda-Kars Railroad LLC for 25 years at 1% interest rate annually. The parties agreed that construction of Georgia parts of the project (98 km) will commence by July, 2007. The preliminary cost of the project is estimated at US $420 mln, reports APA.