Khudayar Hasanli: Connection of Middle Corridor with Europe by block train requires further development

One of the weakest links of the Middle Corridor is the connection to Europe via Georgia and Türkiye, the head of the strategic planning and development department of the Baku International Sea Trade Port, Khudayar Hasanli, said during the panel discussion "Digitalization of railway transport" organized within the framework of the 22nd Caspian International Transport, Transit and Logistics Exhibition held in Baku, Report informs.

"There is a feeder line on the Caspian. Block trains operate both between Azerbaijan and Georgia and from China to Aktau. However, there is no block train connection from Georgian ports or Türkiye to Europe. After loading, the cargo must be shipped. This is the weakest point of the corridor, and it is not a matter for Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia," Hasanli said.

Hasanli also stated that container transportation is an example of integration into international logistics, that is, into the East-West corridor:

"In 2024, we handled over 76,000 TEU containers. This figure in previous periods was 35-40,000 TEU. In just 4 months of this year, 38,600 TEU of cargo containers passed through our port. Considering that in 2010-2020, container cargo volumes varied between 15-20,000 TEU, this means a 5-fold increase."