Regional states to finalize railway deal Wednesday

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey will ink a final agreement on the major railway project to link the three countries in Tbilisi on Wednesday. President Ilham Aliyev is expected to attend the signing ceremony.

Azerbaijan will allocate a $200 million 25-year loan to fund Georgia’s share in the project, while Turkey will finance operations in the section going through its territory on its own. The construction work is due to begin in the second quarter of 2007.

The official opening ceremony will be held at the Tbilisi international airport on the same day, to be attended by President Aliyev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan.*