BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 26
By Sadraddin Aghjayev – Trend:
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are expanding the possibilities of multimodal cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), Trend reports on May 26 referring to the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC.
According to the source, a meeting was held between the company’s chairman Javid Gurbanov and the board chairman of the Kazakhstan Railways National Company Nurlan Sauranbayev.
During the meeting, Gurbanov spoke about the transport and logistics capabilities of Azerbaijan and the importance of ties between the railway structures of the two countries, noting Azerbaijan’s active role in the development of international transport corridors.
The results of joint activities in the field of cargo transportation, as well as steps to be taken in connection with the long-term prospects of the partnership, were discussed.
The parties emphasized the positive dynamics in the segment of transit freight traffic on the railways of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
Gurbanov noted that cargo transportation through the territory of Azerbaijan is carried out mainly from China and Kazakhstan, Georgia, Turkey, Europe and in the opposite direction.
"In the first four months of 2021, container transit traffic through Azerbaijan grew by 49 percent compared to the same period of 2020. The growth was mainly due to China's import and export operations, which increased by 2.8 times compared to the same period of last year and reached 4,300 TEU-containers," he said.
Besides, according to him, a feeder line is developing along with the route Aktau port - Baku (Alat) port - Baku port, which was launched in 2019.
"From January through April 2021, more than 5,000 TEU containers had been transported along this route, which is 11 percent more than a year earlier," the chairman added.
During the discussions, the issues of digitalization of document circulation in order to increase the volume of multimodal cargo transportation on TITR were also spoken about.
Sauranbayev, in turn, highly appreciated the cooperation with Azerbaijan Railways in the framework of international transport projects and noted the demand for transportation by TITR, as well as the efficiency of transportation along this route.
The parties noted the importance of adopting the Development Strategy of the project until 2025 in order to fully use the potential of the TITR, an agreement was reached on the digitalization of the workflow along this route.
At the end of the meeting, further plans were discussed to expand opportunities for cooperation between the two countries within this corridor connecting Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Georgia, Turkey and European countries.
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