Georgia Approves New Composition for Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Coordination Council

The Government of Georgia has approved a new composition for the Coordination Council responsible for overseeing the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project.

Tamar Ioseliani has replaced Guram Guramishvili, former Deputy Minister of Economy, in the council. The council’s main objective is to coordinate the development of the railway project in collaboration with Azerbaijan and Turkey, while facilitating Georgia’s role in the project, The Caspian Post reports citing Georgia Today.

Under Article 27 of the Law on Government Structure, Powers and Rules of Activity, and Article 6 of the agreement between Georgia and Azerbaijan on the implementation of the BTK railway project, the council’s Georgian members are as follows:

• Mariam Kvrivishvili - Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development - Co-Chair of the Coordination Council
• Tamar Ioseliani - Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development
• Alexandre Khvtisiashvili- Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Beka Dzamashvili - Deputy Minister of Justice
• Giorgi Kakauridze - First Deputy Minister of Finance
• Erekle Kezerashvili - Director, Railway Transport Agency
• Lasha Abashidze - General Director, Georgian Railway

The BTK railway’s technical design anticipates the transportation of up to five million tons of cargo annually. The Georgian section of the railway was constructed by Azerbaijani contractors using a loan provided by the Azerbaijani government, with total loan financing amounting to USD 775 million.

Financial statements from the Marabda-Kartsakhi railway section show a loss of GEL 167 million in 2024, nearly six times the GEL 29 million recorded in 2023. The company also carries an accumulated operational loss of GEL 1 billion over previous years. The primary cause of the 2024 loss was foreign exchange effects, which increased the company’s debt in GEL by GEL 121 million. In addition, operational losses amounted to GEL 26 million, with financial expenses totaling GEL 17 million.

Approximately two years ago, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced that over USD 100 million would be invested to expand the Georgian section of the BTK railway, with the work expected to be completed within 18 months. However, no new USD 100 million investment has been implemented to date.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway officially opened on October 30, 2017. The project included the construction of a 98 km railway line from Kars to Akhalkalaki, 68 km in Turkey and 30 km in Georgia, as well as the reconstruction of the 183 km Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi section in Georgia. The total length of the BTK railway is 827 km.