Azerbaijan expects freight volumes along the “Middle Corridor” trade route to rise 17 percent to 5.5 million metric tons this year before reaching 7 million tons in 2027, a government official told Reuters.
The corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which links China with European countries via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, plays an important role in Azerbaijan’s efforts to promote itself as a global transit hub.
Cargo passing along the route includes containers with clothing, electronics and other consumer goods, as well as grain, coal, ore, fertilisers, construction materials, oil products and metallurgical goods.
With its current annual capacity of over 15 million tons, the corridor still accounts for a small share of rail traffic between China and Europe.
However, Baku is expanding port and rail infrastructure to capture a larger share of that trade as many global logistics firms seek to diversify away from Russia due to its war in Ukraine and the Iran war disrupts other routes.
Azerbaijan’s total transit volumes rose 10.1 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year, said Aytan Turabova, head of the Transport Policy Department at Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Digital Development and Transport. Middle Corridor freight grew 13.1 percent, she said.
“We see sustained growth in cargo flows and expect this trend to continue as infrastructure, transport digitalisation, and regional cooperation advance,” Turabova said.
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