The government of Azerbaijan has secured a 277-million-euro loan from a consortium of Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and the French branch of HSBC Bank to purchase 50 locomotives for use on the Baku - Tbilisi - Kars line.
Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) placed a 300-million-euro order with Alstom in May 2014 for 50 type KZ8A 8.8MW electric locomotives. This was subsequently amended in 2015 to comprise 10 dual-voltage passenger locomotives and 40 AC freight locomotives. Delivery of these units is now scheduled to begin by the end of 2017.
Turkey’s transport minister Mr Ahmet Arslan said in December, 2016 that work on the 826-kilometer corridor would finish in “mid-2017” at which point the railway will be available for the start of commercial services.
The project was agreed by Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey as long ago as 2007 and was expected to open to cross-border traffic in 2010. However, problems with construction have resulted in numerous delays.
The project has involved constructing a new 98-kilometer line from Kars to Akhalkalki, 68 kilometers of which runs through Turkey and 30 kilometers through Georgia. A 183-kilometer section of the existing Akhalkalaki - Tbilisi corridor has also been reconstructed as part of the project.
The line is expected to carry five million tonnes of freight per year initially as well as 1 million passengers.
(Source: China International Contractors Association)
A single purchase
