Georgian prime minister allows for Armenia's inclusion in Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project

Georgia is ready to deepen cooperation with Armenia as much as possible, including in the development of transit communications, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists after the ceremonial opening of the new Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway line.

"When we talk about developing Georgia's connecting function, Armenia is given great importance, and we are ready to deepen cooperation and partnership with our Armenian friends as much as possible, including in the development of the transit function. There will be maximum activity on our part on this issue," Kobakhidze said, Georgian media report.

Responding to a question about the potential inclusion of Armenia in the BTK project, the Georgian prime minister stated that this is possible.

BTK is one of the key components of the "Middle Corridor" (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, TITR). It is expected that with the line entering full operation, the project's throughput capacity will increase to 5 million tons (from 1 million tons per year - ed.).

Construction of the BTK, with a total length of 827 km, began in November 2008 on the basis of an Azerbaijani-Georgian-Turkish interstate agreement. The commissioning date of the railway was repeatedly postponed. Technically, the construction of the BTK was completed in October 2017, and freight traffic on it was opened. In the future, the volume of cargo transportation on the main line may be increased to 15 million tons per year.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Georgian Ministry of Economy reported that the throughput capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway has been increased to 5 million tons per year as a result of modernization. As part of the project, 153 km of the existing railway network were repaired and reconstructed, and a new railway line 27 km long was built.