Today.Az - Middle corridor set its first record

The international conference "Black Sea-Caspian Logistics Forum 2024: Corridors, cargo, infrastructure" was held in Baku, and the creation of the International Association "Eurasian Transport Route" was discussed. They talked about the possibilities of developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (MTM, Middle Corridor), the potential of Azerbaijan as a transit hub, maritime transportation, and so on.

Important points: Ukraine, after the restoration of ferry service with Georgia, wants to become part of the Middle Corridor; Azerbaijan and China are discussing the possibility of increasing the number of railway routes to Europe; the Silk Road Railway is emerging; the Czech Republic is interested in the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars joint venture; a new wave of development of the Middle Corridor is expected in 2025; MAERSK has focused on the development of transit route through the Middle Corridor; Austria has declared its readiness to contribute to the Middle Corridor.

The International Association "Eurasian Transport Route" will be established soon on the initiative of Azerbaijan. The principles of operation and the charter of the structure were discussed in Baku at the end of last week. The participants of the meetings spoke about the role of Azerbaijan as the main link between Europe and Asia and welcomed its initiative as very timely. Because transportation between China and Europe is growing, and transit countries must respond promptly to these trends. Freight transportation in the world is growing by 5 percent annually, and the global rail transportation market is estimated at $300 billion. By 2025, global cargo turnover is expected to reach 12 trillion tonne-kilometers, and by 2050 - 28 trillion tonne-kilometers. So a seamless Eurasian railway is exactly what the region needs today.

On September 20, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor for the China-Europe railway express was launched in a solemn ceremony in the Chinese city of Xi'an. The train of 55 40-foot containers will pass through TMTM, following the route Xi'an-Altynkol-Aktau-Baku-Poti-Burgas-Belgrade-Hamburg and the final point will be Budapest.

The noticeable activation of China in the Middle Corridor since the beginning of the year is noteworthy. In 2024, China significantly increased its contribution to the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. This can be judged by the latest data published by the Kazakh media. It is reported that in early September, the 200th container train from Chinese Xi'an arrived at the port of Aktau and was reloaded to Azerbaijan since the beginning of the year. For comparison, 11 container trains passed through TMTM last year. That is, today we can already talk about a record.

As Rovshan Rustamov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (AZD), said after the meeting of the heads of railway administrations of 7 countries in Baku on Friday, up to 1,000 container trains per year can depart from China along the Middle Corridor. According to him, in 8 months of this year, more than two hundred block trains have already passed through the Middle Corridor from China, which is equivalent to 420 thousand tons of cargo. The first container train from the port of Xi'an followed this route in March. The head of the AZHD noted that on average trains go from China to Azerbaijan within 8-10 days, and they reach the ports of Georgia in 12 days. It is expected that 300 container trains from China will pass through TMTM by the end of the year.

The increased activity of China is beneficial to all participating countries of the project. China is one of the largest economies in the world, accounting for more than 18 percent of global GDP. Despite everything, China remains one of the largest trading partners of the European Union. For the EU, this route is also relevant in the light of the increased interest of European countries in the resources of Central Asia. This factor allows us to expect that even in the case of serious problems between the West and China, the Middle Corridor will be in demand. But these are only probabilities, because the trade turnover between Europe and China is growing, to the delight of transit countries as well. China is betting on TMTM, which means that the route will work.

China is interested in increasing the flow of goods through the Eurasian region and joining the Eurasian Transport Route Association. This was stated by the head of the Chinese Railway Container Transportation Corporation Yang Bing during consultations in Baku. He noted that 40 Chinese cities are connected to 225 European cities through various transport routes, among which the Middle Corridor has become the most important.

During the SCO summit in Astana in July, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev launched the shipment of goods along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. A block train and a cargo truck that left China at the end of June arrived at the Kazakh ports of Aktau and Kuryk, from where they were ferried to Azerbaijan, and from there they delivered goods to Europe through Georgia and Turkiye. The Chinese Railway Group announced that it has identified 87 routes for trains traveling from China to Europe, and has also stepped up efforts to organize the movement of China-Europe and China-Asia trains by TMTM. In addition, the China-Europe train timetable has been expanded.

In August of this year, a Memorandum of Understanding was approved between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route for the China-Europe railway express. Recently, a similar document was also signed between China and Georgia.

According to the estimates of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), by 2040 up to 470 thousand containers will be transported along the Trans-Caspian International transport route, and up to 800 thousand, taking into account the logistics capabilities of Central Asian countries. In the first half of 2024, container shipments have already increased by more than 70 percent compared to the same period last year. The increase in the volume of container traffic through TMTM became possible, including thanks to the agreement between Kazakhstan and China on the development of the route, signed in October last year. As part of the agreement, it is planned to increase cargo traffic to 10 million tons by 2027, and increase the total speed of cargo passage from China to Europe to 12-13 days.

For its part, Azerbaijan continues to create conditions for trade routes passing through its territory to be profitable and efficient and remain interesting for such a power as China.

As President Ilham Aliyev noted earlier, one of the priorities facing us is the expansion of the East-West transport corridor. Due to additional investments by Azerbaijan, the annual capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which is an integral part of the Middle Corridor, has been increased from 1 million to 5 million tons. Azerbaijan, which owns more than 50 merchant ships in the Caspian Sea, provides important transit services to the Turkic states. Taking into account the growth in cargo transportation, six more vessels are currently being built at the Baku Shipyard. The capacity of the international commercial port of Alat will be expanded from 15 million to 25 million tons.

By the way, about the courts. Recently, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan agreed to jointly build ferries. In addition, the parties will jointly build a warehouse infrastructure and create a joint venture for the development of TMTM transportation.

On September 17, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who arrived in the region, met with the heads of Central Asian states in Astana. During the meeting, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that further development of the Middle Corridor, including in terms of modernization and digitalization of ports of the Caspian Sea, construction of cargo terminals, opens up wide investment opportunities. According to him, further integration of the transport and logistics systems of Central Asia and Europe remains an urgent task. From this point of view, Kazakhstan welcomes the decision of the European partners to allocate 10 billion euros within the framework of the Global Gateway program for the development of the Middle Corridor. Kazakhstan is counting on Germany's assistance in linking this route with the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and the Global Gateway strategy.

The Middle Corridor is a vital artery of global trade. This corridor, which provides the safest and shortest route between the countries, is, according to experts, not just an expensive way to transport goods. It is a lifeline for economic growth, innovation, and cooperation in a vast space.