Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia agree on development of Trans-Caspian route

In order to develop the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia have agreed to establish a joint venture that will address issues of through tariff setting, cargo declaration, the use of unified IT solutions and the consolidation of transit cargo, Report informs referring to the Kazakh prime minister’s press service.

In general, the route has the possibility of transporting up to 10 million tons per year, including up to 200,000 containers.

Regarding the current route through the port of Lianyungang (China), the issue of reducing the tariff for transit cargo transportation is being worked out.

On March 9-10, negotiations were held between representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia to ensure the transportation of Kazakh and transit cargo.

During the meeting of the Operational Headquarters on anti-crisis measures, held March 11 under the chairmanship of Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, the results of the negotiations on the development of the TITR and issues of transportation of Kazakh cargo were considered.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route was created in February 2014 with the participation of the relevant structures of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia. Subsequently, Ukraine, Romania and Poland joined the project. Currently, the route runs from the Chinese-Kazakh border through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia to Europe. A single tariff has been set for the entire route, the principle of a "single window" is being implemented, and container trains are running successfully.

In December 2020, container trains began to be sent in transit through Azerbaijan along the TITR route from Turkey to China (Xian city). In a short time, this route has gained high demand among shippers, as it meets the requirements for the speed and cost of cargo delivery in comparison with alternative routes.

Trains arrive at their destination in just 16 days, and according to the agreements, they will run regularly twice a month. These agreements have been well respected, even despite the increase in prices since the beginning of 2021 for container transportation in China.

The pandemic and related difficulties in trade relations, a sharp increase in exports of Chinese goods to the US, Europe, Russia and other countries against the backdrop of a reduction in the delivery of goods in the opposite direction, an increase in the cost of container ship services - all these factors influenced the increase in the cost of maritime container freight.