Photo taken on Aug. 22, 2025 shows a groundbreaking ceremony for a railway in Igdir, northeast Türkiye. Türkiye on Friday held a groundbreaking ceremony for a railway linking its northeastern Kars province with Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)

ANKARA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye on Friday held a groundbreaking ceremony for a railway linking its northeastern Kars province with Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave.

The 224-kilometer railway line is designed as a critical link within the South Caucasus transit corridor, known as Zangezur Corridor.

During a ceremony in the eastern province of Igdir, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the new railway line will serve as a vital development move by providing a new transportation link between Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave.

The railway project, with an estimated cost of 2.4 billion euros (2.8 billion U.S. dollars), will include five stations, five tunnels, 19 cut-and-cover tunnels, 10 bridges, three viaducts, 144 underpasses, 27 overpasses, and 480 culverts, the Turkish minister said.

Uraloglu emphasized that once completed, the line will connect Azerbaijan with Türkiye's southeastern and Mediterranean regions, as well as link the Caspian and Mediterranean basins.

The project is expected to give a significant boost to regional cooperation, development, production, exports, and tourism, according to the minister.

"With the Kars-Igdir-Aralik-Dilucu railway line, we are taking one of the most concrete first steps toward realizing the Zangezur Corridor. This project will leave its mark not only on Türkiye's future but also on that of the South Caucasus and Eurasia," he said.

He said that the corridor would strengthen economic cooperation between Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Armenia while fostering regional peace. ■

People attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a railway in Igdir, northeast Türkiye, on Aug. 22, 2025. Türkiye on Friday held a groundbreaking ceremony for a railway linking its northeastern Kars province with Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)