Sustainable transport links between Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia should be developed, said Maja Bakran Marcich, Deputy Director-General – Directorate-General Mobility and Transport (MOVE) within European Commission, Report informs.
Marcich made the remark at the ministerial roundtable on "Sustainable, Digital Middle Corridor and Beyond, " held within the framework of COP29.
"The Russia-Ukraine war has added additional relevance to this. The Middle Corridor, with a total length of approximately 2,000 km, is shorter than the Northern Corridor and has the potential to be a viable alternative by reducing transportation time. Over the past six years, the volume of cargo transported through the Middle Corridor has tripled, and it has doubled since the onset of the war," Marcich noted.
She added that an investment of approximately 18.5 billion euros is necessary for essential infrastructure projects in five Central Asian countries: "With this investment, we expect to reach a cargo volume of around 1.3 million TEU on the Middle Corridor by 2040."