Denmark welcomes collaboration in ports industry
Denmark welcomes collaboration with Azerbaijan in ports industry, Danish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Svend Olling told Trend.
He went on to say that the ports industry in Denmark is well renowned and known for its high level of innovative solutions.
“Danish engineering companies can provide a wide array of competences in coastal engineering, port planning and design and their consultancy is of high quality. This has most recently resulted in the Ramboll Group signing of a billion dollar contract in Algeria,” said the envoy.
He underlined that the task is to extend the biggest harbour in the country with the expertise from Danish engineers.
Further, Olling noted that Denmark is happy about the possibilities provided by the establishment of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway in terms of its ability to connect countries and increase the trade and investments across borders.
As for the possibility of Denmark’s participation in BTK, the diplomat said it is still too early to say how Denmark can take part in the project, as it is still in its early phase no Danish stakeholders have expressed interest so far.
On October 30, a solemn ceremony on the occasion of the opening of the BTK railway was held at the Baku International Sea Trade Port. Two trains from Kazakhstan to Turkish Mersin have already been sent via this route. The first train, consisting of 30 containers, on November 4, delivered 600 tons of wheat to the Turkish city of Mersin. The second freight train left Kazakhstan on November 27. The train has already reached Georgia.
The BTK railway is constructed on the basis of the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey intergovernmental agreement. The main purpose of the project is to improve economic relations between the three countries and attract foreign direct investment by connecting Europe and Asia.
In fact, the BTK railway route is the shortest way to deliver cargo from the Russian regions located in the Volga, Ural and Siberian Federal Districts to the Mediterranean ports of Turkey, and further to the countries of Africa and the Middle East.
The project implementation began in 2007 and construction began in 2008. The line is intended to transport one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of freight at the first stage. This capacity will then reach 3 million passengers and 17 million tons of cargo.
The Baku International Sea Trade Port is located on an area of 400 hectares of land, of which about 100-115 ha cover the area for the development of the international Logistics and Trade Zone. The northern areas around the port are reserved for future expansion of logistics, industrial, and manufacturing activity.
The Port is expected to become one of the leading trade and logistics hubs of Eurasia. The implementation of all three phases of construction is projected to increase the capacity up to 7,660 tons on a daily basis.
The cargo handling capacity of the port, opened on May 14, 2018 with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev, within the first phase is 15 million tons, including 100,000 containers per year. Seven of 12 existing berths serve dry cargo ships, two berths - ferries, two more berths - Ro-Ro and Ro-Pax vessels.
Azerbaijan and Denmark are cooperating in several fields and the relationship is good between the two countries.
Investment opportunities in Azerbaijan are of big interest to Danish companies. A good example is the beer industry with the Danish company Carlsberg in front. Other than that, Denmark and Azerbaijan are both members of the Council of Europe and the OSCE, which means the two countries have good possibilities for cooperation.
The energy sector is one in which both Azerbaijan and Denmark are on the forefront, and cooperation is therefore very relevant.
Moreover, Denmark is a world leader in the area of green energy and renewable and has one of the most sustainable energy systems in the world. Denmark is keen to promote this in Azerbaijan as well.
The trade turnover between the states amounted to $17.56 million in 2017.