BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 26. To further unlock the full potential of the Middle Corridor with concrete investment projects, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has identified over 10 distinct projects for support in 2025-2028 totaling at least $3.5 billion, Yevgeniy Zhukov, Director General of the Central and West Asia Department at ADB, said during the panel discussions held as part of the Asian Infrastructure and Development Bank (AIIB) Annual Meeting in Beijing, Trend reports.
“In addition, as a part of the Middle Corridor development, we plan a project to improve connectivity and capacity in Istanbul, potentially involving the construction of a high-speed rail line/integration of rail lines across the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. It will be a component of the Ispartakule-Cerkezkoy line, which is part of a broader plan to connect Istanbul to the Bulgarian border,” he said.
The Middle Corridor is a transportation and trade route that connects Asia and Europe, passing through several countries in the region. It is an alternative route to the traditional Northern Corridor and Southern Corridor.
The route starts in China and crosses Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then passes through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye before reaching Europe. The Middle Corridor offers a land route that connects the eastern parts of Asia, including China, with Europe, bypassing the longer maritime routes.