Energy
Azerbaijan Commits $152 Million to Nakhchivan as TRIPP-Linked Railway Advances
August 18, 2026
4
Min
Azerbaijan has allocated AZN 258 million (approximately $152 million) for 2026–2027 to accelerate the socio-economic development of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, as construction advances on the railway that will plug the exclave into the TRIPP transit route through Armenia.
State-owned Azerbaijan Railways reports that work is underway on the first seven-kilometre section of the line, running from the Azerbaijani–Armenian border toward Ordubad. The railway will stretch 194 kilometres within Nakhchivan — 264 kilometres including sidings — and involves the construction or reconstruction of 10 stations and 29 bridges. Once operational, around 15 million tonnes of cargo per year are expected to move along the line, creating a direct rail link between mainland Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan and Türkiye.
President Ilham Aliyev said the railway will reach the Armenian border next year, and confirmed that the European Union has expressed interest in the Nakhchivan segment. EU representatives have visited the exclave, and Baku is open to an international investor consortium — on the condition that the controlling stake remains with the Azerbaijani state. "Even without their participation, we will build the railway ourselves," Aliyev said.
The development budget will fund renewable energy expansion, road and transport upgrades, new and renovated schools and kindergartens, and residential construction including heating facilities. It arrives alongside a groundbreaking programme of industrial investment: the foundation has been laid for a 310-hectare Nakhchivan Industrial Park, a 300-megawatt thermal power plant intended to make the exclave self-sufficient in electricity with surplus for export, and a social housing complex of 518 apartments.
The energy build-out goes further still. More than 600 hectares have been allocated for solar power plants with a combined capacity of hundreds of megawatts, and a battery storage system of at least 100 megawatts is planned. Nakhchivan is currently 100% supplied with gas through an exchange arrangement with Iran, and a project has been prepared to run power transmission lines from mainland Azerbaijan to the exclave through Armenian territory.
Taken together, the spending signals that Baku expects the Zangezur Corridor and TRIPP to convert Nakhchivan from an isolated exclave into a transport and energy hub anchoring the East–West and North–South corridors alike.
Sources: JAMnews
