Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan Railways CJSC Spokesperson Natavan Bayramova has stated that the Barda-Aghdam railway is scheduled to be completed in 2023.

She underlined that 44 percent of the 47.1-km Barda-Aghdam railway has been completed so far.

According to Bayramova, four stations, three bridges, one overpass, 23 railway crossings, and 127 artificial engineering constructions will be built in line with the construction plan.

Territories are being demined simultaneously with the railway construction, which is being implemented in two stages, she added.

The first stage (20.7 km) covers the stations of Barda, Kocharli and Tazakand, and the second (26.3 km) - the stations of Tazakand and Aghdam, Bayramova underlined.

The earthworks for the first stage have been completed, and two bridges have been built. Overall, 79 percent of the first stage construction and installation work has been completed.

The earthworks for the second stage are 18 percent complete, the artificial engineering structure is 12 percent complete, and the track structural sections are 9 percent complete.

“The construction and installation of a communication and signaling system have begun," Bayramova said.

The construction of the Barda-Agdam railway kicked off in early December 2020 in line with the presidential order signed on November 24, 2020.

In 2021, Azerbaijan allocated $1.5 billion for the reconstruction of liberated territories, followed by AZN 2.2 billion ($1.2 billion) in 2022. These funds will be used primarily to restore infrastructure (electricity, gas, water, communications, roads, education, health, and so on) as well as cultural and historical monuments.

Currently, work is underway to restore Azerbaijan's liberated lands. Azerbaijan will rebuild its recently liberated areas in four stages. The initial stage includes the solution of the issues of governance and security, and infrastructure, while the subsequent stages include the solution of the issues of social services activities, reconstruction, and development of the economy.

The massive rehabilitation effort, which began immediately following the 44-day battle in 2020, has been supported by large-scale construction projects in the areas of energy, road and railway infrastructure, and airports.

Priorities for reconstruction include the construction of new transport and communication lines, as well as the restoration of historically existing roads. The region's road construction project includes ten major highways totaling 665.4 kilometers in length.

One of the major projects completed in the region is the 101-km Victory Road, which leads to Shusha and is already in use. Over 1,400 km of roads are currently under construction in the liberated lands as part of 15 different projects. The Ahmadbayli-Fuzul-Shusha, Toghanali-Kalbajar-Istisu, Kalbajar-Lachin, Horadiz-Jabrayil-Zangilan-Aghband, Khudafarin-Gubadli-Lachin, Gubadli-Eyvazli, Shukurbayli-Jabrayil-Hadrut, and Fuzuli highways are great examples for these projects.

One of the road infrastructure projects being implemented in the Karabakh and East Zangazur economic regions is the construction of the Barda-Aghdam highway.

One of the most important issues in this direction is the rail and road connection between Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan's western regions, as well as the launch of the Zangazur corridor.

The establishment of the Zangazur corridor will help reinvigorate the South Caucasus road network. The corridor will also enable the construction of a railway line between Azerbaijan and Iran, as well as access to Iranian railways. At the same time, the Zangazur corridor will feature a motorway system in addition to trains. So, the creation of this corridor will also allow the opening of a road connection.

The Zangazur corridor and other transit transport corridors provided by Azerbaijan will reshape the world's transportation map. In other words, the new transport infrastructure will gain international status and become a route that Asian and Pacific countries can use.

The corridor will connect Azerbaijan's main territory with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, as well as Turkey, and will provide new prospects for the Turkic world as a whole. The corridor is of fundamental importance in restoring peace, security and cooperation in the South Caucasus.

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