BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 2. Peace in the South Caucasus will ensure uninterrupted functioning of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR or Middle Corridor) and therefore, the EU has a great interest in advancing this process, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar said on March 1 during a panel discussion at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Trend reports.
"We will have confidence that the Middle Corridor, of which the South Caucasus is a vital part, will operate smoothly, thereby withstanding the ever-increasing flow of goods between Europe and Central Asia and between Europe and China," he noted.
Besides, this week, the World Bank (WB) forecasted that the
development of Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR)
will enable to shift up to 16 percent of railway shipments between
China and Europe to the Caspian-Black Sea region by 2030.
This potential redirection of a part of railway transportation
between China and Europe to the TITR was forecasted to boost the
total volume of transportation along the railway segment by 30
percent.
WB has also given recommendations for the development of ports
on the TITR line.
Thus, for the port of Poti, it is recommended to regulate
connections between the port and highways/railroad station of Poti,
which in the long term will be possible through the construction of
a bypass road.
At Baku International Sea Trade Port (BISTP), it was proposed to avoid direct transshipment of cargo from ships to trains and vice versa in the currently ongoing second phase of expansion of the port (capacity will increase from 15 million tons per year to 25 million tons per year) and to use auxiliary means of transport.
The WB considered it necessary for the port of Aktau to involve more port cranes in loading and unloading operations.
Besides, the WB said that the full implementation of the Middle Corridor can triple freight flows through the Caspian Sea by 2030 from 2021, reaching 11 million tons per year.
At the same time, the bank forecasted that 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).
According to the WB, goods positively affected by transportation through the TITR include chemical, petrochemical and metal products.
Additionally, the bank's study noted that trade across the Caspian Sea between the member countries of this Corridor - Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan could cumulatively account for more than 60 percent of these countries' mutual trade by 2030, up from 40 percent in 2021.
"The cumulative potential increase in the freight base of the three countries between 2021 and 2030 is 90 million tons (44 percent growth). Out of this, 70 million tons are possible additional exports from Kazakhstan," the WB emphasized.
Kazakhstan has proposed the WB to prepare a strategy for the development of the Middle Corridor, extending it until 2040 or beyond (previously, the WB concept was prepared for 2030).
The Director of the Department of Transport Policy at the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan Sapar Bektasov said that TITR is gaining increasing importance and popularity due to its uniqueness, multimodality, and strategic location connecting Europe with Asia.
"There is a consensus within the transportation community that it is essential to reduce the delivery time of goods along this route, implement the use of digital technologies, and establish seamless, stable tariffs by creating a unified service," he noted.
During a presentation of the Middle Corridor study held by the World Bank in Tbilisi, Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rahman Hummatov said Azerbaijan has strong intention and robust political will to develop Middle Corridor and maximize its potential.
The official announced that over the past two months, 13 block trains have been sent along the Middle Corridor from China, and the lead time for these containers to reach the Georgian port is now only 12 days. Just for reference, this is a significant improvement from the previous lead time, which was approximately 40 to 50 days.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Head of Kazakhstan Huseyin Ozhan said that according to the bank’s estimate, total investment needs for 34 identified priority projects required to significantly improve the Central Trans-Caspian Network are estimated to be in the area of 18.5 billion euro.
The World Bank (WB) viewed decarbonizing transport in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) by 2060 as the major challenge for achieving carbon neutrality.
WB experts said that even by 2060, the transport and partly the industrial sectors are unlikely to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions, requiring the use of carbon dioxide removal technologies for these industries' decarbonization.
"It's positive that in the transport sector, oil consumption decreases from 90 percent of the transport fuel structure in 2019 to nine percent by 2060 (according to WB forecasts). However, in segments such as aviation, road freight transport, and maritime transport, oil dependence persists, as reducing emissions in these segments is more challenging even with the active use of environmentally friendly transport technologies (biofuels, hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, synthetic fuels, and electric vehicles)," emphasized the WB publication.
Jarand Rystad, founder of the prominent European analytical firm Rystad Energy, said that the global road and sea freight transportation is close to reaching its peak consumption of petroleum products, which may be followed by a decline after a certain period.
At the same time, according to Rystad, the long-term use of refined products will be in aviation.
Rashad Shakarov, the founder and head of Azerbaijan Maritime Engineering & Construction LLC (AMEC), which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2024, said that the company expects an increase in its contract portfolio due to the rapid development of the Middle Corridor and the anticipated growth in cargo transportation.
According to him, considering the TITR development, Azerbaijan needs more crane vessels, auxiliary barges, and dredging ships to improve the situation with the entry of cargo ships into the port of Baku.
The Head of the Department of Strategic Planning and Development at the Baku International Sea Trade Port CJSC Khudayar Hasanli highlighted at a regional event of the World Bank in Georgia related to the Middle Corridor that in the second half of 2024, the construction of a container terminal will begin in the Baku port. This terminal will be utilized for container transportation between the Baku port and the ports of Georgia as part of the development of the TITR.
It was also noted this week, referring to the results of BISTP leadership's talks with the Executive Director of the Eastern Committee of the German Economy Michael Harmsthat Germany will explore potential investment opportunities in the development of the BISTP and assess prospects for collaboration.
During the presentation of the study on the Middle Corridor conducted by the World Bank in Tbilisi on February 27, Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rahman Hummatov said that the implementation of the Zangezur Corridor project will increase the capacity of the Middle Corridor by 8-10 million tons per year.
Chairman of the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC Rovshan Rustamov mentioned that the opening of a railway line in the southern direction (to Astara) for passenger transport is not currently on the agenda.
"As the railway in the southern direction allows a speed of 20 km/h, it's not considered acceptable for passenger transportation," noted Rustamov.
He also said that there is a current need for a fundamental reconstruction of the infrastructure of railway lines, power supply, and the Baku Ring Road, i.e., the Sumgayit-Baku route, due to the significant passenger traffic observed on this route.
"If at the beginning of 2023, 24,000 passengers were transported daily on the Baku-Sumgayit railway, now this number exceeds 30,000 passengers," he added.
The Ministry of Transport of Russia has begun implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on the creation and development of the Belarus - Russia - Kazakhstan - Uzbekistan - Afghanistan - Pakistan transport corridor and the Memorandum of Understanding on the formation and development of the Russia - Caspian Sea - Turkmenistan - Uzbekistan - Kyrgyzstan multimodal transport corridor, which were agreed upon in November 2023.
Azerbaijan's national airline, AZAL, announced a new discount promotion on several routes to Turkey (Istanbul airports, Antalya, Ankara, Izmir, and Trabzon). Special prices were offered for tickets purchased on February 27, applicable to flights from April 1 to May 31 of the current year, excluding peak periods.
AZAL also announced the commencement of ticket sales for flights from Baku to the resort city of Tivat in Montenegro. The first flight on the Baku-Tivat-Baku route is scheduled for May 2. In May, flights between Baku and Tivat will operate once a week on Thursdays, and from June 10, additional flights on Mondays will be added to this route.