The speed of freight transportation along the Middle Corridor depends on three main factors: the capacity of the Caspian Sea, congestion at border crossings and transit points, and the level of integration between countries, Elmir Poladov, deputy chairman of the Azerbaijan Freight Forwarders Association, said at the EU-Azerbaijan Business Forum in Baku.
According to Report, he said uncertainty persists in the Caspian Sea due to weather conditions, the limited capacity of ferries and roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessels, and the lack of a consistent departure schedule.
"Adverse weather conditions can halt traffic for several days. For example, last December and January, the Port of Aktau operated for only 10 days out of 60, and in some cases for no more than 15 days. For freight forwarders, this means they can promise rail delivery times with day-level accuracy, while sea transit times can only be estimated to within a week," he noted.
Another challenge is congestion at transfer points between maritime, rail and road transport, as well as differences in railway gauge along the route to Türkiye.
"Every transfer between a vessel, the railway and road freight transport, as well as every border crossing, can cause cargo delays," he said.
An additional challenge is the imbalance in cargo flows: containers move predominantly from east to west, while returning them in the opposite direction entails additional costs.
The third problem is the insufficient integration of information and documentation systems. According to Poladov, shippers cannot always track container locations in real time or accurately predict arrival times.
However, he noted that the situation is improving: new vessels are being built on the Caspian Sea, the capacity of the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway has been increased to 5 million tons, the Port of Alat is being expanded, and Azerbaijan is developing a national Single Window system.