BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 9. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the development of the capacities of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), or the so-called Middle Corridor, EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink, told Trend.
"Until recently, up to 95 percent of freight traffic between China and the European Union went through the Northern Corridor. But the war on Ukraine has shown everyone the urgent need to diversify away from this route. We can see that international carriers are increasingly looking for alternatives, leading to greater interest in the so-called Middle Corridor. This development opens new trade opportunities for the Caucasus and for Central Asia to facilitate and reap benefits from China-Europe rail freight transportation," he said.
Rigterink noted that the EBRD is supporting Azerbaijan and other countries on this route to make the most of this potential pivot, and one of the ways to do this is to invest in logistics and transport hubs across these countries.
"We are actively supporting our clients, private or sovereign, involved in bridging Central Asia to the Caucasus. To name a few, we have recently invested in a storage facility near Baku, financed railway modernization in Kazakhstan, and engaged with the Maritime Agency of Georgia to help improve its port management systems," he explained
Moving forward, the Bank's support to Azerbaijan’s transport and logistics potential will remain one of our core priorities in the country, the first VP concluded.