BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 12. The Japanese English-language TV channel “NHK World” devoted a special report to the development of the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route - TITR), pointing to its strategic importance for transportation of goods from Asia to Europe and back, Trend reports.
“The middle corridor is important given the new geopolitical situation in the world. “The Northern Corridor” through the Russian Federation has become less used by many European shippers, and now the Middle Corridor is expanding, especially for rail transportation and transportation through the Caspian Sea,” the report notes.
The authors of the report point out that China considers the Middle Corridor an important part of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, and this route helps not only freight transportation but also the development of economic zones, particularly in Kazakhstan bordering China.
“The EU is ready to allocate 10 billion euros to Central Asian (CA) countries to develop the TITR. The US also keeps the CA countries in the zone of its interests,” the Japanese TV channel points out.
According to Japanese experts, TITR can be competitive.
“For instance, the port of Aktau is improving opportunities for the growth of transit of Chinese cargoes, work is underway to increase its capacity,” - the material of the Japanese TV channel noted.
The report quotes the words of the head of JSC “NC ‘Kazakh Invest’ Yerzhan Yelekeyev that the volume of transportation on TITR is growing, and there is multiple growth potential, as many foreign companies are interested in the transportation of their cargoes along the Middle Corridor.
Furthermore, a quote from the head of the Association of TITR Gaidar Abdikerimov given that among the important aspects of the Middle Corridor is the stability of deliveries along it.
A total of 580,000 tons of cargo was transported through TITR in 2021, 1.48 million tons in 2022, 2.7 million tons in 2023, and plans for 2024 will exceed 4.2 million tons.
TITR has been slowly but surely coming into its own since 2014.