The date of the foundation laying ceremony for the railway line connecting Turkey and Azerbaijan has been announced

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Kars - Igdir - Aralik - Dilucu railway line, which is part of the Zangezur Corridor, will take place on August 22 in the Turkish city of Igdir.

As reported by BAKU.WS with reference to the "Anadolu" agency, this was announced by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey, Abdulkadir Uraloglu.

According to him, with the start of the Zangezur Corridor's operation, the "East - West" line stretching from Beijing to London will work more efficiently.

Emphasizing that this line will strengthen freight and passenger transportation in eastern Turkey, Uraloglu noted that the road will increase Turkey's logistical capabilities and strengthen the country's geostrategic position as an island of security on trade routes leading to Asia.

The head of the department reported that thanks to the efforts of Turkey's Ministry of Treasury and Finance, external financing of 2.4 billion euros has been attracted for the project implementation.

"A 224 km double-track electrified and signalized railway line will be built. Its capacity will be 5.5 million passengers and 15 million tons of cargo per year. The project plans to construct 24 tunnels, 10 bridges, 144 underground and 27 overhead crossings, as well as 480 culverts," said Abdulkadir Uraloglu.

He emphasized that the new line, the foundation of which will be laid in the near future, is part of the Zangezur Corridor connecting Nakhchivan with other regions of Azerbaijan.

"The line will provide continuous rail connection between Turkey and Azerbaijan. It will accelerate the export of the production potential of Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia to foreign markets, increase the tourist attractiveness of the Mediterranean, strengthen the Trans-Caspian and North-South transport corridors, and enhance Eurasian logistics chains. As a result, Turkey will become an important center of regional cooperation, and the cargo flow along the Middle Corridor will significantly increase," the minister stated.