11:04 - 16.11.2017

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November 16, Fineko/abc.az. Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey signed an agreement on creation of transport corridor Lapis Lazuli to connecting the five countries.

TASS agency reports that the document was signed at the VII Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA).

The railroad tracks and motorways will connect Torgundi city in the Afghan province of Herat with Turkmenistan, then with the port of Turkmenbashi in the Caspian Sea. Further, the corridor will continue through the Caspian Sea to Baku, then through Tbilisi to Ankara with branches in Poti and Batumi, and then from Ankara to Istanbul.

The project budget is $2 billion. Consultations on the transport corridor began in 2012. National railways and main roads already form a significant part of this transport corridor, so the agreement is aimed primarily at facilitating the logistics of transit and simplification of customs procedures.

The project's main objective is to increase economic integration in the region and trade volumes.

The transport corridor received its name on the color of mineral lapis lazuli, which was one of the main items of exports from Central Asia to the Middle East, Europe and North Africa in ancient times.