Official: Transit cargo flow via Azerbaijan up by 47 pct

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Transit cargo flow via Azerbaijan increased by 47 percent during the period of January-August 2022, Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev said, Azernews reports, per Trend.

He made the remarks during the Azerbaijan-Iran-Russia trilateral meeting on the prospects of the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor.

Noting that Azerbaijan is working to strengthen cooperation with its neighboring countries, he stated that the development of these relations opens up new opportunities.

He added that trilateral meeting is aimed at adopting and discussing a number of projects and signing agreements.

“Azerbaijan is seeking to create infrastructure, that corresponds to the modern standards. Work in this direction continues,” he said.

Shahin Mustafayev stated that Azerbaijan is implementing projects in the railway sector, adding that the projects include the construction of a railway, repair centers, and the purchase of new locomotives.

Mentioning that the implementation of the second stage of construction of Baku ports is planned for 2023, he said that work is being conducted to draft the plan for it.

"After the implementation of these works, the transhipment capacity in the port will amount to 25 million tenges ($52,940), including 50,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU)," he said.

Zangazur corridor

Speaking at the event, Digital Development and Transport Deputy Minister Rahman Hummatov stated that the Zangazur corridor creates opportunities for additional transit of 5-8 million tons of cargo via Azerbaijan’s territory.

Noting that the traffic of goods along the North-South corridor is 500,000 tons per year, he stressed that there are plans to increase this figure to 4 million tons in the future. He added that there are plans to increase the volume of cargo flow by rail to 6 million tons in the medium term and up to 20 million tons in the long term.

Rahman Hummatov also stated that the construction of a bridge on the Iran-Azerbaijan border is expected to be completed in the near future, adding that there are expectations to complete the construction of a highway in Azerbaijan to the Russian border as well.

“We are building roads and railways in various directions, including the Zangazur corridor. Azerbaijan plans to complete the construction of the Horadiz-Aghband highway and railway in 2023,” he said.

Single railway network

Azerbaijan, Russia, and Iran intend to build a single railway network, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.

Noting that Russia is ready for productive trilateral cooperation, he expressed confidence that negotiations will be very productive for all three parties.

“I guess that full-scale use will affect the volume of trade indicators. Among the main tasks we want to build a unified railway network, the construction of which will increase the flow of goods along the western corridor by 15 percent. It’s also necessary to protect the investments of the parties,” he said.

Alexander Novak also emphasized the importance of creating a logistics service and a tariff mechanism, adding the necessity to work in the development of ports and to agree on the working conditions of each of the parties.

“Today, as you know, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran have reached an agreement on the simplified transportation of goods, which is positive for the further implementation of projects. In order to ensure the effective operation of the corridor, Russia has worked out a new mechanism for its development and prepared a regulatory framework,” he said.

Potential of North-South corridor

Moreover, Russian Deputy Prime Minister of Transport Dmitry Zverev mentioned that the volume of transportation through the North-South corridor isn’t corresponding to the potential of Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia.

“The forecast for the volume of cargo until 2030 indicates the interest of carriers to the route. Every participating country has to conduct work on modernization of transport infrastructure, which will allow using the existing potential of the corridor to the full (15 million tons),” he said.

He added that Russia is ready to consider financing and lending issues to achieve these goals.

North-South Corridor Secretariat

“Iran calls to create North-South Corridor Secretariat,” Iran’s Roads and Urban Development Minister Rostam Ghasemi said.

He noted that Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia will be able to reach an agreement on the development of transport potential which will be beneficial to all three parties.

“The agreements reached to date can be called special, we have a lot of work ahead of us. Iran is ready to take immediate measures to achieve the development of the North-South corridor,” he said.

Noting that Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia play a key role in the region, the minister stated that the countries are working to diversify transport corridors, remove barriers and also use electronic systems, which facilitate the activities.

“It’s necessary to simplify the issuance of visas that are not related to the process of transit of goods. Undoubtedly, we see the need to create a secretariat for the North-South corridor and connect the railways of all three countries,” he said.

Reinforcing strategic relations

Moreover, Shahin Mustafayev also highlighted that Azerbaijan is interested in reinforcing strategic, friendly, political, economic, and cultural relations with Russia and Iran.

He said that the ongoing bilateral and trilateral meetings of the leaders of three countries provide a framework for broad development objectives.

"The meetings of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi addressed cooperation issues and development of the International North-South Transport Corridor. Azerbaijan, through which the North-South and East-West transport corridors pass, has become a logistics center on the freight transportation in these directions," he said.