The volume of oil and oil product transportation via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor) will increase, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov said at the panel discussion "Azerbaijan: emerging gateway to green growth and connectivity" within the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, Report informs.
Although the Middle Corridor is traditionally viewed as a non-energy transport route focused on trade and transportation of goods, it also has significant energy potential, he noted.
Speaking about the transit potential of Azerbaijan, the minister stressed that the country attaches great importance to ensuring the uninterrupted movement of goods.
This requires both internal and external coordination between the relevant agencies - customs, border services and others, he said. As for the physical infrastructure, it is safe to say that there are currently no serious bottlenecks, and Azerbaijan tries to anticipate them and promptly eliminate them, he added. Although there are individual challenges - for example, the decrease in the water level in the Caspian Sea, which limits the carrying capacity of dry cargo ships and container ships, Azerbaijan is aware of these risks and is working at the regional level to address them, he noted.
Jabbarov also added that Azerbaijan is striving to do everything to make transit routes economically attractive.
A good example of this is the Alat Free Economic Zone, where Azerbaijan is trying to get synergies from transit flows and turn them into industrialization, creating an industrial hub that could also serve the wider region. As for how to do this, one of the elements of this is digitalization, and Azerbaijan is investing and will continue to invest a lot in this area, the minister of economy said.