“Our objectives focus on developing integrated logistics products, searching for new customers and cargo volumes, organising and monitoring container transportation by TITR, and promoting the route and partnership with foreign partners,” Director of ADY Container, Natig Jafarov, said in an interview with RailFreight.com.
“In this sense, the way the companies work currently proves to be quite efficient,” he added. “It would be valuable to allow the market to develop monopoly-free and attract more investments to enable growth. As a result, a joint venture would not bring any added value to the corridor in general since the parties involved already coordinate and take the needed actions.”
According to him, the Middle corridor is operated by the International Trans-Caspian Transport Consortium (ITTC), established by the railway administrations of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia, consisting of subsidiary companies ADY Container, KTZ Express, and GR Logistics.
“Today, the ITTC acts as a single route operator, including coordinating the activities of rail and maritime operators across the route with its unified price and standard operation plan, wagon platforms, and terminals.”
He noted that the Turkish company Pasifik Eurasia joined the ITTC as the responsible operator for the passage of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line, while the Romanian company Grampet joined the Consortium as the operator from Constanta further towards Europe: “During the latest meeting of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route association in Ankara, partners noted that a standard tariff for cargo transportation between member countries is significant to maintaining traffic increase along the corridor. The application of the Automated Integration System to facilitate the crossing of freight trains was also considered necessary.”