Minister: BTK railway rooted in Heydar Aliyev's vision

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway line did not begin with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2017. The foundation of this project was laid by National Leader Heydar Aliyev's vision, Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev said at a ceremony marking the launch of the line after modernization, Report informs.

"Decades ago, he understood that the success of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye was inseparably linked and that infrastructure was the strongest foundation for cooperation between these three brotherly and friendly countries. BTK was the logical continuation of this principle. The same geographical line, the same three countries, but this time applied to all trade - freight transportation, logistics, and the movement of goods from Central Asia to European markets and in the opposite direction. The National Leader saw this as a single and ongoing project. Over the past 30 years, we have witnessed how right he was.

"In October 2017, the presidents of Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Georgia gathered at the Port of Alat and opened this railway to the world. That moment opened a new page in the history of Eurasian connectivity. But it was only the beginning. Such an ambitious corridor requires continuous investment and sustained political will. Azerbaijan remained committed to this obligation. We invested in the 184-kilometer section of the line passing through Georgian territory: 13 railway stations, 55 bridges, 8 traction substations, and more than 320 buildings and engineering facilities were reconstructed in five stages. This was not ordinary repair work. It was a purposeful and strategic decision to turn BTK into the true backbone of the Middle Corridor," he said.

The minister added that the result is clear.

"The line's throughput capacity has been increased fivefold to 5 million tons per year. Today, BTK is the most competitive transit route between the Caspian and Black seas. Two weeks ago, at the World Urban Forum in Baku, in the presence of President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, a protocol was signed completing the rehabilitation of the Marabda-Kartsakhi section.

"Projects of this scale do not happen on their own. They require leaders who believe in them and assume long-term commitments. None of what we have achieved would have been possible without the personal leadership of President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. I would like to emphasize one point that goes beyond statistics. The success of our countries is mutually interdependent. Every ton of cargo transported through this corridor proves that what our countries have built together is lasting and sustainable. I would like to express my deep gratitude to everyone who contributed to this work and to our Georgian colleagues, and I hope this railway will further strengthen the existing political, economic and strategic ties between our countries," Nabiyev said.