The official opening ceremony of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway is scheduled to take place on June 2.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, the ceremony will be held at the Akhalkalaki station in Georgia. The event is expected to be attended by high-ranking officials from Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.
Although the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway has been operating in a test mode since 2017, the official inauguration marks the project's full-scale launch. The total length of the railway line is 827 kilometers, with 213 kilometers passing through the territory of Georgia. The construction of the Georgian section of the project was financed through a $775 million loan provided by Azerbaijan, which is planned to be repaid from the revenues generated by the project.
In response to an inquiry from the Georgia bureau of Report, Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY) stated that between May 2023 and May 2024, significant modernization works were carried out on the BTK line. As a result of these reconstruction efforts, the annual throughput capacity of the BTK line has been increased from 1 million tons to 5 million tons.
The BTK railway serves as a vital component of the Middle Corridor, a strategic transport route connecting Asia and Europe. By bypassing traditional northern routes, the railway significantly reduces transit times for cargo moving between China, Central Asia, and Europe, thereby enhancing regional connectivity and economic cooperation among the participating nations.
