Türkiye begins laying groundwork for Zangezur Corridor

IGDIR, Türkiye

Türkiye has begun laying the groundwork for the Kars-Igdir-Aralik-Dilucu Railway Line in the country's southeast, which will connect the country to the Zangezur Corridor, ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus.

Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said at the groundbreaking on Friday that Türkiye, as a bridge connecting Asia and Europe, plays a key role in the Middle Corridor through megaprojects like the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway line, the Eurasia Tunnel, the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, and other bridge projects.

“We are beginning the construction of a line connecting Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, which will then strengthen the socio-economic ties between Asia and Europe,” he said.

He highlighted that railways have been a state policy for Türkiye under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s leadership since 2002, as the country has connected railways to ports, industrial zones, and logistics centers to contribute to the network. “We are also continuing the modernization efforts of our existing lines, as around 70–80% of them are electrified,” he said.

“Over the past 23 years, we invested nearly $300 billion in transportation, $64 billion of which is allocated to railways—meanwhile, we added 3,000 kilometers of new lines, 2,251 kilometers of which are high-speed, to our railway network,” he noted.

Uraloglu hailed the new railway line in the southeast as an “international peace and prosperity roadmap,” as the Zangezur Corridor will boost the economic cooperation between Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, while reinforcing peace efforts. “It will usher in a golden age for global trade, especially for countries involved in the Middle Corridor,” he said.

“The 224-kilometer-long railway line will be double-tracked, electrified, and signalized, and it will feature a transport capacity of 5.5 million passengers and 15 million tons of cargo per year,” he said. “The engineering marvel of a railway line will also feature five tunnels, 19 cut-and-cover tunnels, three viaducts, 10 bridges, 144 underpasses, 27 overpasses, and 480 culverts.”

“The Zangezur Corridor will make the international trade route from China to the UK more efficient,” he mentioned. “Meanwhile, the railway line will also contribute to Türkiye’s eastern and southeastern regions’ infrastructure, production, and exports, as well as the tourism in the Mediterranean region.”

“The southeastern province of Kars will be a ‘steel gateway’ of this route, while the city of Igdir’s agricultural and industrial potential will be opened to the global markets with this project,” he added. “With new projects on the horizon and the ongoing ones under construction, we will have expanded our railway network to cover 17,500 kilometers by 2028 and 28,600 kilometers by 2053.”

Uraloglu said the project received €2.4 billion (approximately $2.8 billion) in external funding and will be completed within four to five years.