TBILISI, Feb 7: Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan signed a $422 million deal on Wednesday to build a railway corridor between Europe and Asia.

The Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway, due for completion in 2009, follows the construction of major oil and gas pipelines that have turned the three countries into a strategic energy artery.

Until now there has been no direct rail link between neighbours Georgia and Turkey, a legacy of the Cold War when the region was a front line between NATO and the Soviet Union.

“This project will become a geopolitical turning point in our region and a strategic link between Asian and European countries,” Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said at the signing ceremony.

At present goods moving overland through the region, a historic trade crossroads that was part of the ancient Silk Route, have to travel along potholed roads or go through Iran to the south and Russia to the north. —Reuters