BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 2. The Ministry of Transport of Russia aims to enhance the use efficiency of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a source in the ministry told Trend.
"Measures are underway to enhance the use efficiency of INSTC, as well as other transport and logistics corridors in terms of developing transportation infrastructure," the source said.
The source also highlighted that actions are being taken to eliminate bottleneck areas on approaches to seaports, along with the timely implementation of activities to develop transportation infrastructure.
"This includes addressing bottleneck areas on approaches to seaports, the timely implementation of activities to develop railways, internal waterway infrastructure, roads, border crossing points, increasing the capacity of seaports to facilitate cargo handling growth, and additional measures, including the development of transportation and logistics services," emphasized the source.
The foundation of the INSTC was laid on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000.
In total, 13 countries (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Ukraine) have ratified the agreement.
The volume of freight transport by rail along the North-South corridor in 2023 amounted to 2.1 million tons, which is four percent more than in 2022.
The transport potential of the North-South corridor is expected to grow from six to 10 million tons of cargo per year by 2027.