Prospects of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway

Now, when negotiations over the opening of the Armenian-Turkish borders are being conducted, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which is against Armenian interests, has become a very important issue. Yerevan has been insisting since the Kars project was agreed that the existing Kars-Gumri (Armenia) railway, which has not functioned since 1993 when Armenia occupied Azeri territories, should be rehabilitated, particularly since the Russian aggression against, and occupation of, Georgia in 2008 have made Georgia seem a less reliable transit country.

Against the background of the world financial crisis the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway construction could face certain problems. Construction was once started but then stopped due to severe climate conditions. Now it has been started again and should be finished by mid-2011, at a projected cost of USD 422 million.