BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 26. Kazakhstan plays a key role in the high-quality development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor). More than 6,400 TEU (20-foot containers) were transported from Kazakhstan along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor) from January through March 2024, which is 85 percent more than the figure of the first quarter of 2023.
As Ding Jianwei, Senior Fellow of the Chinese Taihe Institute, told Trend, Kazakhstan, a vital Middle Corridor country, is located on the Eurasian continent and has a favorable geographical location as well as a robust infrastructure. It is a critical node for safeguarding and fostering high-quality development along the Middle Corridor.
According to him, Kazakhstan has recently taken full advantage of its geographical advantages to serve as a cargo transit hub and capitalize on new opportunities created by the Middle Corridor, developing modern transport infrastructure such as roads, railways, and logistics hubs.
"The country aims to expand the capabilities of the Middle Corridor, build an efficient, diversified, and secure international logistics supply chain, and open up more opportunities for Eurasian economic and trade cooperation and connectivity. At the same time, Kazakhstan is actively coordinating its actions with countries along the route to create a unified mechanism for transport operations, continuously improve logistics services, modernize technologies and tariff conditions, eliminate administrative barriers, and reduce obstacles during customs clearance," Ding Jianwei said.
As he added, currently, in order to expand the port capacity of the Caspian Sea along the Middle Corridor, Kazakhstan is actively promoting the construction of a new “dry port” at the Bakhty border crossing and a container hub in Aktau.
In general, according to the analyst, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are the most important countries in the Middle Corridor.
"As two important engines of economic development in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, both countries play an indispensable and key role in the TITR due to their unique geographical advantages," Ding Jianwei noted.
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.