Zangezur Corridor to make it possible to transport 15 mln tonnes of cargo per year at first stage - Azerbaijani president

BAKU. July 21 (Interfax) - The cargo transportation volume on the Zangezur Corridor after its launch at the first stage is projected at 15 million tonnes a year, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.

"We assess the potential of the Zangezur Corridor at the starting stage at 15 million tonnes of cargo. We are practically completing the construction of the railway to the junction of our border with Armenia and Iran. Probably in less than a year, maybe even next spring, the Azerbaijani part of this railway will be built," Aliyev said at a meeting with the 3rd Shusha Global Media Forum on the issue Digital Transitions: Strengthening of Information and Media Stability in an Age of Artificial Intelligence, held in Khankendi.

The Zangezur Corridor is an international value, the president said.

"Zangezur will connect many countries. When we speak about the transportation route in Zangezur, we speak not only about connecting the main part of Azerbaijan to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. We are talking about a transport route of international significance," Aliyev said.

The Zangezur Corridor is a transport route that is expected to connect the main part of Azerbaijan to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (an exclave of Azerbaijan) with subsequent access to Turkey. Work is being done to create the infrastructure of the corridor via the territory of Iran (Azerbaijan-Iran-Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic-Turkey). Besides, the Zangezur Corridor is expected to run through the territory of Armenia (42 kilometers), but there is currently no relevant agreement between Baku and Yerevan.

Turkey is hoping for the project's implementation to create the Zangezur Corridor by 2029.