BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 20. A High-Level Ministerial Roundtable on Sustainable and Digital Middle Corridor and Beyond was held within COP29, Trend reports.
Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan's Minister of Digital Development and Transport, emphasized that Azerbaijan has shown steady growth in total transit volume in recent years, which reached 13.4 million tons in 2023, with 4.3 million tons transported through the Middle Corridor.
"As of early 2024, we are ensuring the movement of block trains from China through the Middle Corridor. By the end of this year, we expect more than 300 block trains to pass through our territory, with average transit times of 10 days to Azerbaijani ports and 12 days to Georgian ports. Next year, we aim to increase the number of block trains to 600, with a long-term target of reaching 1,000 block trains," the minister said.
Tatiana Molchan, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), stated that the Middle Corridor, connecting Europe and Asia via the Caspian Sea, is one of the strategic routes with immense potential for sustainable and digital development.
She added that concerted efforts will transform the Middle Corridor into a fully digitalized and harmonized route, which will reduce costs and improve transparency for all participants.
Molchan also highlighted that the UNECE closely collaborates with regional stakeholders through the Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA).
"Last year, the SPECA roadmap for the digitalization of the Middle Corridor was approved here in Baku at the level of heads of state. By 2027, this roadmap aims to implement real-time data exchange across the Trans-Caspian Corridor in accordance with UN digital standards," she said.
Levan Davitashvili, Georgia's Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, said:
"Our priority is to enhance the resilience and reliability of the Middle Corridor, including through infrastructure modernization. I would like to highlight two key railway projects in Georgia: the modernization of the main railway line and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. These projects significantly increase the competitiveness of rail transport, which is considered one of the most environmentally friendly modes of transport."
Davitashvili noted that the railway modernization is nearing completion and will increase its capacity from 27 to 48 million tons per year, while also improving operational efficiency.
He further emphasized that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway strengthens the Middle Corridor by directly linking Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye.
"Additionally, the construction of the East-West highway is actively progressing, with 70 percent of sections already open for traffic. The new roads are designed according to European safety standards, and the introduction of intelligent transport systems will improve their operation," Davitashvili said.
Kazakhstan's Deputy Minister of Transport, Talgat Lastaev, highlighted that, in the first 10 months of the year, total cargo transportation via the Middle Corridor reached 3.8 million tons, an increase of 68 percent compared to the same period last year.
"Container shipments amounted to 46,300 TEUs, nearly three times higher than last year. Notably, China-Europe-China routes accounted for 27,600 TEUs, a 25-fold increase year-on-year. Additionally, we are attracting more cargo volumes and have reached an agreement to increase the number of container trains from China to 600 annually," he said.
Lastaev also mentioned that Kazakhstan has implemented a system for exchanging road transport permits with 42 countries.
"To ensure the transparency of this system, a pilot project for exchanging electronic permits with the Republic of Uzbekistan was launched this year. By the end of the year, we will complete the transition to electronic permits for transportation between Kazakhstan and China, which will allow 60 percent of all permits to be converted to digital format," he added.