BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 8. The volume of cargo turnover on the Aktau-Baku-Aktau route amounted to 1.728 million tons from January through October 2023, the source at the port told Trend.
The bulk of cargo turnover was made up of oil transshipment - 1.311 million tons. Some 114,000 tons of metal, 59,000 tons of petroleum coke, 13,581 TEU containers were also handled.
According to the source, the total cargo turnover of the Aktau port for the above period amounted to 3.785 million tons, which is 22 percent more than the same period in 2022 (3.109 million tons).
Thus, in the first 10 months of this year, oil transshipment amounted to 3.012 million tons, which is 54 percent more than in the same period in 2022 (1.957 million tons).
At the same time, grain transshipment decreased from 384,000 tons in 2022 to 162,000 in 2023.
In addition, the transshipment of metal increased - 142,000 tons (an increase of 48 percent), ferry cargo - 9,000 tons (an increase of three times), as well as other cargo - 459,000 tons (an increase of 31 percent).
The Aktau port is an integral part of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor).
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, issued an order in 2022 to expand the volume of oil transportation along the Trans-Caspian corridor. Following this, Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas and Azerbaijan's SOCAR struck a deal to transport 1.5 million tons of oil per year from the Tengiz field to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
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.