BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 24. Brussels will host Global Gateway investors Forum on sustainable transport connections between Europe and Central Asia to discuss the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor) projects at the initiative of the European Commission on January 29-30, the Secretary General of the TITR Association Gaidar Abdikerimov told Trend.
The forum aims to foster the long-term objective of transforming the TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe Caucasus Asia) into a multimodal, modern, competitive, sustainable, predictable, 'smart', and fast route connecting Europe and Central Asia, to implement the political commitments of the EU and Central Asian countries on strengthening their ties for achieving tangible results of the TITR development.
Moreover, the forum is the next step following sustainable transport corridor studies conducted in 2023, commissioned by the EU, between the EU and Central Asia.
The event is designed to launch implementation and coordination of investments along the TITR by taking specific actions outlined in the studies, including drawing investors to projects with clear and realistic timelines and financial commitments.
Individual panels are planned to address multimodal transportation, customs issues, market liberalization, harmonization of standards, work on infrastructure projects around the Black and Caspian Seas, investment opportunities for the short and medium term, and the design of a coordination mechanism.
High-ranking representatives from Central Asian countries, EU member states, TRACECA partner countries, EU institutions, international and bilateral financial institutions, as well as representatives from the private sector and civil society, will participate in the forum.
The Global Gateway is a European strategy to develop smart, clean and secure connectors in the digital, energy and transport sectors and is fully aligned with the UN 2030 Climate Agenda.
“I consider it very important that such reputable international financial institutions (IFIs) as the World Bank, EBRD, ADB, OECD and others conducted several major studies on TITR in 2023," Abdikerimov noted. "The attention of such institutions means the importance and significance of the Middle Corridor and the region as a whole for the global economy."
He recalled the existence of a roadmap for the development of TITR with a previously planned total investment of about six billion euro.
“As part of this roadmap, some projects have already started, for example, the construction of additional railway tracks on the Dostyk-Aktogay-Moyynty section, the Almaty bypass railway, a container hub in the port of Aktau, the construction of the second stage of the Baku port in Alat, the modernization of the Alat-Boyuk Kasik railway section, expanding the capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, construction of a transshipment hub on the Tbilisi-Makhinjauri section, construction of a container terminal in Poti port,” said the Secretary General of the TITR Association.
According to him, great progress has also been made in the work on TITR automation and digitalization, there are a number of solutions for the use of electronic transport documents, and this important work continues.
He mentioned that the presence of meaningful results and real, implementable plans attracts attention to TITR and new shippers.
"Last year turned out to be very dynamic for us, as interest in TITR is growing both from participants of the market of transport and logistics services, IFIs and large economic conglomerates. In the near future, more major companies interested in cooperation with TITR (Middle Corridor) will join us," Abdikerimov noted.
He stressed that a total of 25 railway, transport and logistics, port, and shipping companies from 11 countries are operating on the route.
"Countries such as Bulgaria, Singapore, Lithuania have joined TITR, and the list of participants will continue to grow," the secretary general pointed out.
The number of TITR participants may increase due to the growth of container transportation and the digitalization of this route, he explained.
"The potential for container transportation is enormous, as the whole world prefers this method of trade. Today, we must elevate the degree of containerization of our transportation to a high level," Abdikerimov emphasized. "Several steps are taken on the route by our main participants - ADY (Azerbaijan Railways), ASCO (Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company), the Port of Baku, TCDD (Turkish State Railways), and the Kazakhstan Maritime Shipping Company (KMSC). These companies are making maximum efforts to implement these types of transportation".
He also mentioned that within the first 15 days of 2024, three container trains with cargo were already sent from China via TITR.
"This volume will increase throughout the year, providing another opportunity for the active development of the Middle Corridor, which needs to be utilized," added the secretary general.
The implementation of the TITR idea began in 2013, and in 2016 the TITR Association was established to improve the coordination of the work of the Middle Corridor, since its cargo turnover amounts to millions of tons of products of various types and purposes.
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