Binali Yıldırım, BTK railway project will not affect terrorism

Binali Yildirim, the BTK railway project will affect more than terrorism: Transport, Shipping and Communications Minister Binali Yildirim Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project would not affected by the terrorist attacks in Turkey.
Yıldırım attended the 7th Tripartite Coordination Council Meeting of the BTK railway project in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, spoke at a joint press conference. "Will there be a negative impact on Turkey's terrorist attacks in the eastern region of the BTK project?" Yıldırım answered the question, saying that terrorism is the common problem of the countries in the region and that the project is not affected by the events.
On the agenda of the meeting represented by Georgia Minister of Economic and Sustainable Development and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Kumsishvili and Azerbaijan Minister of Transport Ziya Memmedov; Issues such as the current situation on the construction of the project and the integration of the three countries in freight transport and logistics issues were included.
Within the framework of the meeting, the joint declaration, which is a road map to be followed on the regional developments that may be experienced after the implementation of the project, was signed by the ministers. At a joint press conference later, the ministers answered questions from journalists.
MEMMEDOV: “COSTS INCREASE CONTINUOUSLY AT BTK”
Azerbaijan Transport Minister Memmedov said at the press conference that the cost of the BTK railway project is constantly increasing due to global financial crises. Mr. Memmedov stated that the initial cost of the project was calculated as 200 million dollars, but when the second phase of the project was reached, the figure increased to 575 million dollars. This year, due to the global financial crisis, the cost of the BTK railway project has been revised as 775 million dollars. Memmedov said that the budget foreseen for ICTA will be between 150 and 200 million dollars by the end of the year and that the budget may change according to the global crisis.
In his speech, Georgian Economic and Sustainable Development Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Kumsishvili said that they were loyal to the construction program as the country concerned and that all works will be finished by the end of this year.
BTK, also called Demir İpekyolu, will reach Kars by passing through the cities of Azerbaijan, Baku, Georgia's capital, Tbilisi and Ahılkelek. When the project in question is launched, it will be possible to transport uninterrupted cargo from Europe to China. Thus, it is planned to shift all of the cargo transports between Europe and Central Asia to the railway. It is aimed to carry 3 million tons of cargo annually in the medium term through BTK. By 2034, it is aimed to carry 16 million 500 thousand passengers with a load of 1 million 500 thousand tons. The railway is 826 kilometers whole, the line 76 kilometers from Turkey, 259 kilometers in Georgia, while the 503 kilometers will pass through Azerbaijan.