Armenia Launches International Tender for Gyumri-Kars Railway Design

Speaking in the northern city of Gyumri, Armenia's Minister of Territorial Administration, Davit Khudatyan, announced the initiation of a design tender for the Gyumri-Kars railway, specifically focusing on the Akhurik border section. The Minister noted that actual construction work will follow right after the design is approved.

"We have announced a tender process for the design works regarding the Akhurik section, and within this logic, we are currently continuing our work," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty quoted Khudatyan as saying.

International Tender and Financing Questions

Given the lack of experience with railway projects of this scale among local companies, the tender is being conducted internationally. According to preliminary calculations, the construction of the 21-kilometer railway section on the Armenian side will cost 15 million dollars. However, it remains unclear who will finance the project—the Government of Armenia or the Russian-owned "South Caucasus Railway" company, which currently manages the country's rail network.

Based on previous statements by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia will take responsibility for restoring the Akhurik-Akyaka segment and the Yeraskh railway junction. Meanwhile, the mayor of Akyaka, a Turkish town bordering Armenia's Shirak province, previously reported that infrastructure restoration on the Akyaka-Gyumri section is already underway on their side.

Track Gauge Differences and the Historic Ani Bridge

Operating the cross-border railway presents a technical challenge: the Armenian railway gauge is 1520 mm (broad gauge), while the Turkish system uses the standard 1435 mm gauge. According to Khudatyan, to bypass this obstacle, authorities will implement freight transfer solutions similar to those used at the Akhalkalaki station in neighboring Georgia. Concurrently, Yerevan and Ankara are nearing the construction phase for the restoration of the historic Ani Bridge over the border river. The Minister recently discussed this project with his Turkish counterpart, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu. Despite these developments and the recent renovation of the Margara border checkpoint, Turkey continues to keep its land border with Armenia closed, a blockade in place since the 90s.

Energy Communications with Azerbaijan

Shifting to regional transit, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev recently claimed that a project to run power lines through Armenia to the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan is ready, with the locations for power transmission pylons already mapped out. Armenia's Minister of Territorial Administration confirmed that joint working groups are conducting studies to synchronize the infrastructures.

• Specialists are crossing the borders to conduct on-site observations and assessments.
• The government views the prospect of connecting to the Azerbaijani and Turkish energy systems positively, primarily for the potential of expanding export opportunities.