BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 22. Azerbaijan Maritime Engineering & Construction LLC (AMEC), honoring its tenth anniversary, will endeavor to develop the country into a significant hub for international routes, CEO/General Director of AMEC Rashad Shakarov exclusively told Trend.
He stated that AMEC anticipates an expansion in its contract portfolio as a result of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route's (Middle Corridor) rapid construction and expected cargo transportation growth.
"We became the first Azerbaijani maritime consulting company in 2014, and since then, both state and private companies operating in Azerbaijan have trusted us to conduct inspections of various types of vessels and marine structures, engineering work on them (design, construction, and modification, assembly-disassembly of vessels, calculations of their stability), and the search and delivery of specialized vessels demanded in Baku due to the growing volume of work," he noted.
AMEC is the sole Azerbaijani company in this service industry, posing a substantial challenge to foreign specialist companies.
"We are interested in Azerbaijan's rapid economic development and growing importance as a major regional transportation hub. Azerbaijan plays an important role in the operation of the Middle Corridor and other trade and transport initiatives, so it must be an effective hub," emphasized Shakarov.
According to him, Azerbaijan needs to address and resolve a range of procedural and logistical issues to establish commercially viable operations as a hub.
"We need more logistics parks, consolidation of terminals for receiving and storing goods, simplification of customs procedures, and permitting systems for carriers," said the head of AMEC.
He also noted that the company strives to collaborate with all transport, logistics, and forwarding companies operating in the region, as it's interested in increasing Azerbaijan's role as a significant transportation hub.
"We try to tell more about the transit and logistics potential of Azerbaijan to foreign partners and are ready to contribute to this. We would like understanding and support for the work of local transport companies to be developed in Azerbaijan itself," added the CEO.
To note, Shakarov has recently become chairman of the board of directors of the Caspian Energy Club in the UK.
He will moderate an important event on logistics and investments organized by the Caspian Energy Club, scheduled for March 21, in Rotterdam.
This conference will focus on the prospects for the development of the Middle Corridor and the transport and logistics industry in Azerbaijan and the region.
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