ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 24. Kazakhstan and China have launched a trial transit road cargo transportation to Europe via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor), Trend reports.
According to the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan, for the first time in history, a trial transit road transportation is being carried out on the China-Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan-Georgia route via the seaports of Kuryk and Baku.
The first three Chinese trucks, weighing 80 tons each, departed from Urumqi and followed the transit route. On May 23 of this year, they were loaded onto a ferry at the port of Kuryk in Aktau city to continue their journey along the route China-Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan-Georgia.
The Ministry noted that the agreement with the Chinese side on road transportation was signed last year and became a key moment in mutually beneficial cooperation, opening up boundless opportunities and prospects for further development of trade relations.
"To date, hundreds of millions of tons of cargo from China to Western countries are delivered by sea within a period of up to 52 days. A smaller volume of cargo goes by rail, taking up to 22 days. The specified terms can be reduced by road transport to 12 days, delivering cargo 'from door to door' without intermediate loading and unloading," Ali Altai, Chairman of the Committee for Road Transport and Transport Control of the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan, said.
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.