Baku 27° C
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The total volume of cargo transportation along the Middle Corridor in 2025 will amount to 2.5 million tons of dry cargo and 1.7 million tons of oil, Gaidar Abdikerimov, secretary general of the International Association "Trans-Caspian International Transport Route" (TITR), said at the association's meeting in Baku, Report informs.
"To fulfill the approved transportation plan along the TITR route for 2025, railway and port administrations, transport operators, and shipping companies need to minimize delays and idle time of loaded wagons and containers at checkpoints, ports, and port stations of the Caspian and Black Seas. It is also important to ensure unhindered passage of trains along the entire route within the established regulatory deadlines," he noted.
According to him, shipping companies CJSC "Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company" (ASCO) and LLP NMSC "Kazmortransflot" are proposed to consider increasing the number of feeder vessels to 10 units and organize their regular circulation between the ports of Aktau and Alat (Baku).
"In case of shortage of additional vessels at Kazmortransflot and ASCO, TITR members need to work on attracting vessels from third-party shipping companies. Furthermore, JSC 'Arkhangelsk Sea Commercial Port,' CJSC 'Baku International Sea Trade Port,' JSC 'Aktau Sea Commercial Port,' and Batumi Sea Port should take measures to reduce vessel idle time by ensuring their priority reception, timely loading and unloading, as well as allocation of additional or reserve berths for simultaneous servicing of several vessels.
Also, Port Kuryk and Semurg Invest LLP will jointly consider the possibility of organizing container feeder transportation at Port Kuryk, including reception, dispatch, loading, and unloading of vessels," added Abdikerimov.
The Middle Corridor connects China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye, and Europe. In October 2023, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan signed an agreement to establish a joint railway company Middle Corridor Multimodal Ltd. to improve the efficiency of transit transportation. The volume of cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian route in 2024 increased by 62% and reached 4.5 million tons. It is expected that the implemented measures will allow increasing its capacity to 10 million tons by 2027.
