"We have witnessed a historical fact - the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was launched for the first time in reverse mode, which means that Turkey's cargo to China will travel through Georgia," Natia Turnava, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, stated.
According to the Minister, the corridor has been carrying export goods from Asia to Europe and China for the last two years, but now we are witnessing how, for the first time, the export train to China passes through Georgia.
"This means that the railway corridor operates in a two-way mode, hosting a growing number of cargoes, which is very important in the future not only for the development of our country's transit function but also for easier export to the Chinese market. China is our number one export partner, quite a lot of Georgian wine is exported there, and we see a very good opportunity to increase Georgian exports to the Chinese market by improving these logistics," Turnava said.
A freight train has made the first transit from Turkey to China today via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. The train left Istanbul on December 4 and will arrive in Xi'an Province via the middle transport corridor. The train will have to cover 8,693 kilometers in 12 days while crossing two continents, two seas, and five countries. The train is loaded with home appliances made in Turkey, placed in 42 containers. Until now, the cargo was transported from China to Europe via the middle transport corridor.
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) is a new railway route that connects Europe and Asia via Georgia. The construction began in 2008 and was completed in 2017. The railway has been operating in test mode since 2017. The route for freight transit has been active since 2018.
According to the Minister of Economy, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is the shortest route between China and Europe, reducing the freight and increasing Georgia's competitiveness in this corridor. According to the Ministry of Economy, in January-October 2020, using the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, BTK, 1260 TEU was transported, which is 371.9% more than in the same period in 2019 (267 TEU).
