BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 1
By Sadraddin Aghjayev - Trend:
A number of countries are showing interest in the strategy for the development of inland transportation along the One Belt One Road international route, the head of the South Caucasus political scientists club Ilgar Valizade told Trend.
According to Valizade, China's Belt and Road Initiative has seven routes, three of which (in the northern, central and southern directions) are currently the main ones.
"The central route passes through the territory of Azerbaijan, there are no problems in the implementation of this initiative. In addition, the volume of cargo that links Azerbaijan with Turkey through Georgia is only growing. In particular, this is evidenced by the congestion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. In the coming years, within the framework of this initiative, it is planned to reach the design capacity. In addition to China, a large share of cargo transportation is held by the countries of Central Asia and Russia," he said.
The analyst also noted that some issues of this initiative are inconsistency in tariffs for transit traffic, as well as restrictive measures in connection with the coronavirus.
“On the part of China, this issue is explained by the need for additional opportunities for handling cargo in the West direction and strengthening sanitary and epidemiological inspection. These procedures slow down the turnover of goods along the central corridor of the entire route. The instability caused by the COVID-19 creates additional obstacles to the implementation of an unimpeded flow of goods in this direction," Valizade said.
He added that the route is very promising, as it covers a number of countries in Central Asia, the South Caucasus with access to the countries of Southwest Asia and Southeast Europe.
"Chinese manufacturers are showing great interest in establishing economic relations with this group of countries. There is no other route for the delivery of goods across the mainland, the Central Route is very profitable and holds one of the key positions in the whole system," the expert said.
Valizade also said that an additional impetus for the development of inland transportation is created by an increase in the price of freight - sea transportation. Against the background of the stable launch of this route, a number of other states are showing interest.
Speaking about the Zangazur corridor, Valizade noted that this corridor is more profitable in terms of delivering goods from China to European countries, as well as for transporting Russian goods to India and the countries of the Black Sea region.
“In this sense, the Zangazur corridor creates an opportunity for the intersection of the interests of a number of participants in order to deliver goods in different directions. This transport hub will develop and open up new routes and opportunities for further transportation of goods," he stressed.
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