By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

The Trans-Caspian Transport Route, a promising infrastructure project enjoying an opportunity to become attractive and profitable for consignors from European and Asian countries, continues to attract more and more supporters.

The Chief Advisor to the Turkish President highlighted that the shortest and most profitable ground itinerary from Turkey to the Central Asia runs through Azerbaijan and the Port of Baku along this Route.

Azerbaijan plays a role of the most profitable and reliable logistics center in the Caspian Sea region, said Yalchin Topcu.

“The importance of the Trans-Caspian Transport Route (TITR), which is laid via Azerbaijan, has essentially increased over the past years. No doubt, that the Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat settlement has crucial role here,” Azertac quoted Topcu as saying.

The TITR, which is created to provide transport connections between the East and West of Eurasia, runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and then to Europe via Turkey and Ukraine. The route was launched with the establishment of its Coordinating Committee in October 2013. 

In January, 2016, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Ukraine decided to apply the competitive tariffs for cargo transportation via the TITR. New competitive tariffs were introduced for the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route since June 1, 2016. In October 2016, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia signed an agreement on the establishment of the International Association of TITR, whose office is located in Astana.

Topcu further emphasized that moving the Port to Alat, will be very important for the activity of the Silk Road.

“Today, the governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan jointly carry out transportation and similar works over the Caspian Sea. We are ready to render any support to brotherly country in this sphere.

We also wish that companies involved in the international cargo transportation first choose the Baku Port and Caspian Sea itinerary. Turkish people feel in brotherly Azerbaijan as comfortably as in their home country”, the former Turkish minister emphasized.

The Baku International Sea Trade Port in Azerbaijan’s Alat settlement is expected to become one of the leading trade and logistics hubs of Eurasia.   The implementation of all 3 phases of construction is projected to increase the capacity up to 7,660 tons on a daily basis.

The first stage of construction of the Port is projected to be completed until late 2017. Till that period the Baku Port is expected to increase its capacity handling some 10-11 million tons of freight and 50,000 TEUs per year. The second stage will provide for the handling of 17 million tons of freight and 150,000 of containers, while the implementation of the final stage is projected to increase the capacity up to 25 million tons of freight and 1 million of containers.

The volume of freight transportation via the Port increased in 2016 by 47 percent as compared to the index of 2015. The figure stood at 4.5 million tons, while transit transportation accounted for some 87 percent of the total volume.

The official further said that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will make big contribution to the Baku International Sea Trade Port project.

The railway project, expected to be completed in the first half of 2017, is the most-anticipated regional railway link.

Being constructed on the basis of the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement, BTK is expected to expand multi-modal transportation opportunities, ensure the growth of passenger and freight transportation and boost the transit potential of the regional countries.

The project is of great significance for not only Azerbaijan and the region, but also for the entire Eurasia.