BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 28. The full implementation of the Middle Corridor, or the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), can triple freight flows through the Caspian Sea by 2030 from 2021, reaching 11 million tons per year, Trend reports via the World Bank's (WB) study on "Trade and transportation through the Middle Corridor by 2030".
According to the WB's forecasts, container shipments will make up approximately four million tons of the total flow through the Caspian Sea by 2030 (a growth of more than 1.5 times).
"In the case of full exploitation of the Middle Corridor, considering the improvement of its operation (infrastructure, digitization, and legal aspects), goods with high added value that are more sensitive to transit time and currently transported through the Northern Route could be redirected to this corridor," the WB explained.
According to the bank analysts, the development of the TITR will diversify flows, such as high-value-added goods like fertilizers (their export volume from the Caspian region to Europe by 2030 could almost double).
"Other goods positively affected by transportation through the TITR include metal products, finished food products, machinery, and chemical products," the study noted.
However, the WB predicted that the share of raw materials transported through the Middle Corridor would decrease from 60 percent to 53 percent.
At the same time, products such as oil and petroleum products, as well as ferrous and non-ferrous metals, will continue to represent significant volumes through this route.
Among the current problems of the Middle Corridor, the WB includes delays at sea crossings due to a shortage of ships, issues with the quality of rolling stock, and logistics centers.
"Improving logistics clusters and concentrating specialized activities will allow TITR participants to offer interested parties integrated logistics solutions, benefiting from optimization. Such agglomeration centers could contribute to the development of higher value-added goods production and their delivery through the Middle Corridor," the WB added.
The Middle Corridor links the container rail freight transportation networks of China and the European Union through Central Asia, the Caucasus, Türkiye, and Eastern Europe.
Multilateral multimodal transportation infrastructure links ferry terminals in the Caspian and Black Seas with railway systems in China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and Poland.
The Middle Corridor facilitates increased cargo traffic from China to Türkiye, as well as to European countries and back.