WB proposes establishing JV to manage container shipments along Middle Corridor

The World Bank proposes that the largest state transport companies of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Türkiye establish a joint asset-light venture to coordinate container transport along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor), Report informs, citing the World Bank update titled "Integration: World-Class Trade Logistics along the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor."

According to the update, such an operator should be owned by the primary national railway carriers and shipping companies, yet function as a single logistics provider. Its functions would include end-to-end tariff setting, route optimization, dispatch management, incident response, and integration with international logistics companies at origin and destination points in China and the European Union.

The World Bank assesses that the main constraint on the Middle Corridor's development in the foreseeable future will not be a lack of infrastructure capacity, but low service levels and institutional barriers typical of state-owned transport enterprises. The report notes that regional railway operators are currently at varying levels of development.

Kazakhstan's KTZ manages the largest network of 16,000 km with a freight turnover of 303 million tons, demonstrating high asset utilization and transitioning to commercial financing models. Georgian Railway, with a relatively small operational scale of 1,400 km and 13.7 million tons, stands out for high-quality corporate governance and mature financial practices. Uzbekistan Railways (6,100 km, 103 million tons) and Azerbaijan Railways (2,100 km, 18.5 million tons) serve as crucial transit links while undergoing systemic transformations in tariff policy and management. Türkiye's TCDD, with an extensive network of 13,000 km, carries only 26 million tons of cargo, focusing primarily on the passenger sector.

The World Bank also recommends reforming tariff systems by shifting to cost-to-serve pricing, introducing long-term public service obligation (PSO) contracts, and securing commercial financing to ensure the bankability of transport enterprises.