BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 17. The growth dynamics of freight transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) will be sustained for the next 10 years, Gaidar Abdikerimov, Secretary-General of the TITR Association, told Trend.
According to him, the volume of cargo transshipment along this route has been increasing annually.
"For example, in 2022, more than 33,000 TEU containers or 1.5 million tons of cargo were transshipped via the TITR. This year, we forecast a growth of container transshipment by over 20 percent to 40,000 TEU and an expected volume growth of 35 percent to two million tons. In the medium-term perspective (5-10 years), we anticipate a dynamic and annual growth of cargo transshipment through the TITR. This can be attributed to the high demand for the corridor and the interest of countries in both participating in our association and utilizing the route for cargo transshipment," he said.
Abdikerimov emphasized that over the next decade, container transshipment is expected to exceed 150,000 TEU per year.
Meanwhile, approximately 5 billion euros will be invested in the infrastructure and process efficiency improvement of the TITR in the next five years. This route plays a significant role in integrating Central Asian producers with global markets in the direction of Türkiye, countries in North Africa, and Southern Europe.
The purpose of this route is to facilitate the transit of goods through countries such as China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Poland, and Romania. These eight countries have been working together within the framework of the project since 2017.