Azerbaijan and Georgia have created a joint venture, BTKI Railways LLC, founded by subsidiaries Azerbaijan Railways CJSC and Marabda-Kartsakhi Railway LLC. The new company will be responsible for the operation and management of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway section, as well as for organizing cargo transportation and attracting new cargo.
The establishment of the enterprise took place within the framework of an agreement between the governments of Azerbaijan and Georgia, which provides for the financing, design, construction and operation of the Marabda-Kartsakhi railway line to the border with Turkey. Infrastructure management after completion of construction will be carried out by the new joint venture.
The modernization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line, which began last year, was recently completed. Thanks to the upgrades, the annual throughput capacity of the railway line increased from 1 million to 5 million tons.