BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 17. ADY Express LLC, a subsidiary of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, informed this week about the transportation of 453,621 tons of cargo in January 2024, which is 108,597 tons more than the same month in 2023 (an increase of 31 percent), Trend reports.
At the same time, the volume of transit cargo transported by ADY Express in the reporting month amounted to 280,838 tons, which is 17 percent more than in January 2023.
The Azerbaijan Railways CJSC forecast the passing of 100 trains with 40-foot containers transporting Chinese products through the Xi'an-Baku multimodal route in 2024. The transit time for this type of multimodal transportation (rail-feeder ships via the Caspian) from Xi'an to the port of Baku is 11 days.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Swiss Confederation in Azerbaijan Thomas Stähli has visited the Baku International Sea Trade Port (BISTP) to discuss the potential areas of cooperation.
"The volume of cargo transportation from Asia to Switzerland via the Baku port has seen a recent increase. In 2022, this figure stood at 146,755 tons, rising to 551,074 tons in 2023," a source in BISTP said.
The ambassador said that Switzerland is keen on the development of the international Middle Corridor across the Caspian Sea.
"The Middle Corridor is an effective alternative route for freight transport connecting China and Central Asian countries with Europe via the Caspian Sea, South Caucasus, and Türkiye," Secretary-General of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) Umberto de Pretto said.
According to him, transit freight volumes on this corridor will increase by at least five-fold.
He noted that IRU has the tools to streamline border crossings, and governments just need to act and enact these tried-and-tested trade facilitation instruments.
Finland supports the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor), a source in the Embassy of Finland in Kazakhstan said.
"Investments in the Middle Corridor benefit both Finland and Finnish companies. Thanks to the Middle Corridor, transport routes are diversified, and the transport times from Asia to Europe become shorter," the source explained.
Regional Director at ACE Forwarding Caspian, a renowned European transport business John Quinn saw efficient cargo transportation along the Middle Corridor, which includes transit through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Europe and back.
"For over 27 years, our company has provided logistics, transportation, and customs solutions to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Central Asian countries. We are confident in the effectiveness of cargo transit from Georgia and Azerbaijan to Central Asian countries and vice versa," said the regional director.
According to him, a tariff decrease will improve the prospects for the development of this freight transit route, and consultations with the Middle Corridor participants are already underway.
The branch manager of the AsstrA Kazakhstan office Ramilya Akhmetova said that Kazakhstan plays a key role in the global logistics network.
"Kazakhstan, located centrally in Eurasia, is an important hub for international transportation lines. Kazakhstan's land is traversed by five railway and eight road corridors, connecting the large economies of China and Europe while also facilitating access to Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. This critical position places the country as a cornerstone in the global logistics network," she emphasized.
Akhmetova stressed that given the changes in global cargo flow and the unstable geopolitical situation, there is an increase in the active use of the Middle Corridor in international cargo transportation.
"International logistics companies, complying with the requirements of shippers as well as sanctions restrictions, are choosing this route, even though so far it can increase the cost of transportation by 1.5 times. To minimize risks, AsstrA implements the practice of having our agents present at critical sections. We also carefully control the process of document execution to ensure uninterrupted and efficient transportation," Akhmetova added.
Kazakhstan has for the first time exported ammonium nitrate along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. The first batch of ammonium nitrate produced by KazAzot JSC was shipped today from the port.
The cargo of Kazakhstan’s only producer of nitrogen mineral fertilizers will travel by sea to the port of Hovsan (Azerbaijan) and then through the Georgian port of Batumi to be delivered to consumer markets in Europe and the world. The Kazakh vessel 'Turkestan' accepted into holds a ship’s consignment in the amount of 3,000 tons, and by the end of the year, the manufacturer will provide at least 16 such consignments.
The total volume of cargo transshipment through the Aktau seaport of Kazakhstan amounted to over 360,000 tons in January 2024, which is 12.7 percent higher than the same period in 2023. The port provided transshipment of 3,000 tons of grain and 310,000 tons of oil and petroleum products.
The seaport handled over 2,300 twenty-foot equivalent containers (TEUs), up 30 percent from January last year. Including over 2,000 TEU along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor). This figure has doubled compared to last year.
Kazakhstan's KTZ Express JSC (a subsidiary of Kazakhstan Railways) has organized the dispatch of three container trains from China (Xi'an) to Azerbaijan (Absheron station) and Georgia (Poti/Tbilisi station) from the beginning of February 2024.
The President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said during the Kazakh-Qatari investment roundtable in Doha that Qatari companies can benefit from investments in the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
"Our major infrastructure projects include the port of Aktau, one of the largest hubs on the Caspian Sea, international airports in Astana and Almaty, numerous dynamically developing railway and road networks, as well as high-quality logistics nodes. We have high hopes for the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. We believe that Qatari companies and financial institutions can derive significant benefits by exploring business and investment opportunities in this area," Tokayev stated.
Turkmenistan and Iran discussed issues related to the development of international trade and transport connections between the countries in the region, including the transit route through Azerbaijan within the "Iranian maritime economy" forum.
The forum discussed the development of international trade and transport connections in the international North-South and West-East transport corridors.
During the forum, three transport routes were identified: Europe-Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran- India, Russia-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran-India, and Russia-Iran-India.
The head of RDL Group Roman Dedkov said that RDL International Group of Companies will organize an international exhibition and conference "Multimodal Transport and Transit Forum" on April 23-24 in Tbilisi.
According to him, the key topics of discussions will be:
- situation on the freight transport market and cargo transit through the Black Sea region;
- transcontinental and regional routes, loading of transport corridors, growth prospects;
- trade forecasts in the Black Sea region;
- the role of the Black Sea states in the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route;
- modernization of the infrastructure of the Black Sea countries (measures on railways, ports);
- co-operation with the EU and the countries of the South Caucasus;
- development of ports taking into account "green" technological trends.
According to Dedkov, interest in cargo transit through the Black and Caspian Seas is growing, and it is important to promptly respond to such interest to increase cargo transportation.
Cargo transit by all modes of transport in January 2024 amounted to 17.4 million tons, which was two percent more than the figure for the same time in 2023.
During the period, Azerbaijan's State Statistics Committee reported that 53.5 percent of total goods was transported by road, 34.8 percent by pipeline, 7.9 percent by rail, 3.6 percent by sea, and 0.2 percent by air.
During the period, freight transportation in the private sector grew by 4.2 percent compared to the same period in 2023. The share of this sector in total freight transportation amounted to 75.6 percent.
To note, passenger transportation in Azerbaijan in the reporting period exceeded 145.6 million people, which is 5.3 percent more than the indicator for the same period in 2023. The bulk of passengers (87.5 percent) were transported by car, 11.8 percent by metro, and 0.7 percent by other modes of transportation.
Cargo transit by sea in Azerbaijan exceeded 628,100 tons in
January 2024, increasing 11.2 percent year on year. According to
data from the country's State Statistics Committee, passenger
transportation by sea totaled 1,900 individuals in the reporting
month, an increase of 11.8 percent from January 2023.
Meanwhile, freight transshipment through Azerbaijan's seaports
totaled more than one million tons. Transit cargoes accounted for
80.8 percent, or 813,500 tons.
Additionally, oil accounted for 52.3 percent of Azerbaijan's
maritime export cargo transit.
As of February 1, 2024, the cargo volume in Azerbaijan's ports was
69,700 tons.
In January 2024, Azerbaijan transported 1.4 million tons of cargo via railway transport. According to the country's State Statistics Committee data, railway cargo transportation in 2024 saw a seven percent decrease compared to 2022, while passenger transportation increased by 30.1 percent, reaching 622,600 people. Rail transportation accounted for 7.9 percent of all freight traffic during the period.
According to Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), in January 2024, more than 437,000 passengers were transported on international routes at Baku Airport, which means an increase of 39 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. During this period, 313,000 passengers were served.
In January of this year, 36 airlines, of which 15 were low-cost airlines, operated 4,225 flights. Foreign airlines accounted for 50.8 percent of passenger traffic on international routes, with the national air carrier accounting for the rest.
About 47,000 passengers were transported in the direction of Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan. In addition, the number of transit passengers increased by 56 percent compared to January last year and reached 21,000 people.
In addition, it became known that Pegasus Airlines will begin charging additional fees for hand luggage from economy class passengers. According to the data, the changes are already reflected in the section with information about hand luggage on the company’s website.
It also became known this week that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested $41.99 million in shares of Kazakhstan's leading carrier Air Astana, supporting the country's first partial privatization through an initial public offering (IPO). The bank became the owner of 5 percent of Air Astana's shares as a result of the investment, a source in EBRD told Trend.
Bakhtiyar Aslanbayli, bp's vice president for external relations and communications of the Caspian region, told told to local media that the situation in the Red Sea does not create any principal problems for Azerbaijani oil exports.
"Azerbaijani oil goes to the world market through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (Mediterranean Sea) oil pipeline, and in the port of Ceyhan it is taken by buyers or traders who solve the logistics issues themselves," Aslanbeyli noted.
Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, head of the working group on control over the development of the Free Economic Zone (FEZ) Alat Mikayil Jabbarov shared information on social networks that the preparation of the road map of the development of FEZ Alat has begun.
"At the first meeting of the working group created on FEZ Alat on February 14, discussions were held on the prospects of FEZ development and preparation of the relevant road map," Jabbarov informed.
To note, the working group on FEZ Alat was created on February 1, and its main goal is to develop a master plan of the territories allocated for this FEZ, develop and implement projects of territorial-external and territorial-internal transport (railway and road) and engineering (water, gas, electricity, sewerage, etc.) infrastructure with the participation of relevant state institutions and organizations.
Meanwhile, during the eight years of operation of the state register of seaports of Azerbaijan, seven ports of different purposes and 21 other objects of maritime operations with port infrastructure have been registered in it, Trend reports, referring to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Digital Transformation.
"The availability of developed port infrastructure in Azerbaijan is important not only for the country's non-oil sector but also for further increase of transit potential. The country has created fertile conditions for Azerbaijan to become an important transport and logistics center," the press release noted.
Azerbaijan's seaports in 2023 increased cargo transshipment by 13.8 percent compared to 2022 - up to 13.376 million tons, with more than 11 million tons accounting for international transit cargo (2.9 percent growth).
Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) State Maritime and Port Agency of Azerbaijan, operating since 2021, has announced data on the number of vessels registered in the State Register of Vessels and the bareboat charter register of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
"According to the data for the beginning of 2024, the number of vessels registered in the State Register of Vessels and the bareboat charter register of the Republic of Azerbaijan is 500 units, which is 39 percent more than the number of vessels that passed such registration in 2003," the report noted concerning the achievements in the field of development of Azerbaijan's maritime transport for the 20 years.
Azerbaijan is a member of the UN International Maritime Organization and its 246 vessels have an International Maritime Organization (IMO) identification number and meet its criteria.
"The total tonnage of these 246 vessels reached 817,705 tons by 2024, which is a record for the country recorded by the PJSC," the statement by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport says.
Cargo exports by rail transport in 2023 increased by 10.8 percent compared to 2022.
According to Azerbaijan Railways (CJSC), cement (up 27.8 percent by 2022), bitumen, and tar (up 22.8 percent) are among the exported strategic goods.
Synthetic materials and plastic goods were exported 85.9 percent more compared to 2022, different types of construction raw materials - 26.9 percent more.
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