ASTANA, Kazakhstan, February 23. Kazakhstan seeks to transform itself into an international transit hub within the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor), said the Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan Marat Karabayev, Trend reports.
He made the remark during an expanded board meeting at the Ministry of Transport, chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar.
"Today, the main task is to transform Kazakhstan into an international transit country as part of the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. Compared to last year, transportation volumes along this corridor increased by 65 percent and amounted to 2.8 million tons (2022 – 1.7 million tons). In particular, the export of Kazakh products via TITR increased by 2.5 times," he said.
According to the minister, along with exports, there is an increase in import cargo traffic.
"This, in turn, shows the interest of European companies in the TITR route. Negotiations are also underway with authorized bodies and companies of neighboring countries to attract exports to the TITR route, including on the provision of government support measures for this transportation," the minister noted.
Meanwhile, 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.