(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Sara Ganjiyeva, AZERNEWS
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway which is a part of the
Trans-Caspian transport corridor is an important step for ensuring
efficient cooperation between not only Azerbaijan, Georgia, and
Turkiye, but also East and West. A total of 90 percent of the
project, which the whole world attaches special importance, has
been completed.
It is hoped that the completion of the project will make a big
difference in the development of transit and trade in the region,
where at the initial stage it is expected that the peak annual
capacity of the BTK railway will be approximately 17 million tons
of cargo and three million passengers. Besides, by connecting the
countries in the region as well as in the east, at the initial
stage, it will serve one million passengers and transport 6.5
million tons of cargo.
Many experts are optimistic about this resurgent Silk Road that
serves as the most reliable transit route for many countries across
the Caspian Sea.
In a comment for AZERNEWS on the issue, economist Eyyub Karimli
said that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will have a positive effect
on the general economy of the region, and foreign trade relations
on tourism will expand and create conditions for the entry of
additional income into the country's budget.
"Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line creates great opportunities both
for the region and the country. This will have a positive effect on
the export potential of our country. Thus, it ensures the expansion
of our foreign trade relations and the access of our entrepreneurs
to Europe. This will have wide-ranging effects on the entry of
additional revenues into the transit and country budgets, and the
attraction of large amounts of funds. Undoubtedly, this will have a
fundamental and positive impact on economic development," the
economist said.
Eyyub Karimli emphasized that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line
will also contribute to cargo transportation and logistics in the
non-oil sector, new jobs will be created and this will have a
positive effect on the economy.
"On the other hand, it goes without saying that this will also
strengthen the East-West, North-South integration of the local
railway lines. This will increase the cargo transportation and
logistics capabilities of the countries in the region, which in
turn will greatly contribute to the opening of new jobs and new
economic opportunities. Using unique methods in cargo
transportation, the North-South, East-West cargo flow through our
country will give a great impetus to the development of the non-oil
sector and the expansion of transportation and logistics
opportunities," Eyyub Karimli said.
The economist noted that foreign currency income in the
country's budget will increase and export opportunities will have a
strong impact on the economy. He added that the expansion of
tourism and transport sectors in the economy will create new
opportunities for local and foreign entrepreneurs.
"Also, it will cause a significant increase to the country's
budget in the tariffs and duties of goods passing through the Silk
Road Customs Checkpoint. With this, the foreign currency income in
the budget of our country will increase, and it will strengthen the
wide export opportunities and economic relations in all three
directions. Our entrepreneurs will play a big role in bringing the
flow from Russia to Europe. This will undoubtedly create conditions
for the expansion of foreign economic circulation of local
entrepreneurs. From this point of view, I believe that
entrepreneurs from other countries will give special attention to
investment opportunities in our country. With this, let's expand
these areas of the economy - tourism, transport, and service areas.
In the future, it will make its positive contribution to the
transportation related to cargo transportation, as well as the wide
opportunities of warehouses," the analyst added.
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