Minister: TITR may become important route for EU markets

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), can help deliver goods via the Caspian Sea to Baku in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkiye, then further into Europe and become an important route for the markets of the European Union and can contribute to stabilizing global energy and food security, reads an article by Kairbek Uskenbayev, minister for industry and infrastructure development of Kazakhstan, Report informs.

“By transiting through Kazakhstan and further down the TITR, goods reach the EU market in almost half the time they would take through maritime trade routes. Ultimately, this joint initiative can provide high-quality intermodal transport and logistics services, harmonise cross-border rates, and introduce a unified IT platform to fully automate cargo transport services from China to Turkiye and the Black Sea ports.

In addition to this major project, we are modernizing infrastructure at border crossing points, and reconstructing motorways that link major population and production centers in the West of the country with the cities in the East. Work is also in full swing on a project to develop the Kuryk port and launch a container hub at our city of Aktau by 2025 (a free economic zone). Both are located on the Caspian Sea,” the minister noted.

“So far, we have successfully expanded the Aktau port and constructed a ferry complex in the Kuryk port, thus ensuring smooth and swift cargo transportation to all the ports of the Caspian Sea countries and along the international routes “North – South” and TITR. The throughput capacity of the ports of Aktau and Kuryk now exceeds 21 million tons of cargo per year.

Finally, a multifunctional sea terminal Sarja is being constructed in the port of Kuryk and will be completed by 2025. The project involves building grain and universal terminals, liquid cargo and general cargo terminals, as well as a transport and logistics center,” he added.

TITR 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 Turkiye to China (Xi’an city). In a short time, this route has become in high demand among shippers, as it meets the requirements for the speed and cost of cargo delivery in comparison with alternative routes.

Trains have time to 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 fact that the cost of maritime container freight also rose.