BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 10. Central Asia’s transport corridors are undergoing a major transformation amid rising cargo flows and changing patterns of international trade, with their future development depending on a combination of infrastructure investment, digital solutions, international standards and private sector participation, Tatiana Rey-Bellet, IRU’s TIR and Transit System Director, told Trend in an exclusive interview.
According to Rey-Bellet, the current dynamics of road transport development in the region are linked to growing demand for alternative trade routes capable of ensuring more resilient supply chains. “The operational capacity and efficiency of current road border crossings along the North-South and Western Europe–Western China corridors passing through Central Asia are clearly undergoing profound and structural shifts. Driven by regional geopolitical unrest and a surging demand for trade routes bypassing sanctioned territories or maritime vulnerabilities, these corridors are experiencing record cargo volumes,” Rey-Bellet said.
She noted that road transport remains one of the most flexible tools for maintaining supply chains, which is particularly important for Central Asia, where many countries are landlocked. “Road transport is flexible and quickly adapts to keep supply chains up and running, which is crucial for a region with landlocked countries,” the IRU representative said.
At the same time, she emphasized that the development of transport corridors requires not only investment in physical infrastructure but also improvements in border procedures and digital connectivity between countries. “Despite massive investments into hard infrastructure, led by governments and multilateral development banks across the region, it remains a network where rapid hardware expansions are routinely undermined by soft connectivity inefficiencies,” Rey-Bellet said.
Furthermore, she noted that modernization of border crossings should be accompanied by harmonized procedures and the implementation of international standards. “Major border crossings are heavily congested, with processing times often unpredictable, queues occasionally stretching for kilometres due to non-synchronised customs procedures, repetitive physical inspections, and outdated handling facilities,” she said.
According to Rey-Bellet, one of the key priorities for further development is improving data exchange between countries. “While many modernised border crossings are well technically equipped, cross-border data exchange is severely fragmented. In the current highly volatile geopolitical environment, customs administrations often tend to prioritise national, isolated IT solutions and systems. As a result, transport operators are often forced to follow separate repetitive compliance checks at every single border entry,” she said.
The IRU representative highlighted digital transport solutions such as eTIR and eCMR as important tools for reducing administrative barriers and improving the efficiency, transparency and security of cross-border trade. “eTIR and eCMR, which are now available to all countries in the region, are among the most powerful levers for making cross-border trade more efficient, transparent and secure,” Rey-Bellet said.
She noted that eTIR operations have already begun in several regional corridors. “Following the first eTIR transport operations between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan earlier this year, eTIR operations have been run across the Caspian Sea between three countries: Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan,” she said.
Moreover, Rey-Bellet stated that the next important step will be Kazakhstan’s integration into the eTIR system, given the country’s role in Eurasian overland freight transportation. “Kazakhstan, which provides transit for some 80% of overland freight cargo originating from China, is expected to follow suit shortly. IRU, jointly with UNECE, is working closely with Kazakhstan’s customs authorities to deploy eTIR and connect to neighbouring countries,” she said.
She added that the eTIR National Application developed by UNECE allows countries to accelerate implementation of the system even in technically challenging environments. “The roll-out of the eTIR National Application, developed by UNECE, allows countries to use this off-the-shelf solution to fast-track eTIR,” Rey-Bellet said.
In addition, she highlighted the growing importance of eCMR, an electronic version of the international consignment note, which can simplify freight documentation procedures. “eCMR is also gaining momentum as countries from the region prepare for bilateral and multilateral pilots,” she said.
According to Rey-Bellet, agreements have already been reached to test eCMR for shipments between Russia and Azerbaijan, as well as between Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
She added that IRU, together with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships, is implementing the “Modernisation of the Road Transport Industry” project, which focuses on creating conditions for eCMR implementation. “It is crucial to begin by establishing mechanisms to ensure the acceptance of eCMR by competent authorities, as recognition of the electronic document by government agencies is a prerequisite for its practical application in international freight transport,” Rey-Bellet said.
She noted that the project includes an analysis of legal frameworks using Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan as examples, followed by pilot operations and recommendations. “Successful test runs can subsequently be replicated in other countries,” she said.
Speaking about the long-term conditions required for sustainable transit growth in Central Asia, Rey-Bellet stressed that an effective transport system depends not only on building new roads and border facilities, but also on how efficiently they are integrated into international networks. “Effective transport is not limited to infrastructure. It must also consider how infrastructure connects to broader networks, and, most importantly, how it is used by people and businesses,” she said.
She emphasized that even high-quality roads cannot fully address logistics challenges without efficient border operations. “We can have fantastic roads, but if they are just going to get trucks faster to congested borders where they have to spend sometimes days or weeks, that would not help anyone,” Rey-Bellet said.
According to her, the success of commercial road transport is determined by efficiency and resilience, requiring a comprehensive approach. “Any investment in transport must therefore consider both hard infrastructure and soft connectivity,” she said.
One of the most important elements of this approach is the use of international standards, particularly in transit operations. “International standards, which are crucial for fostering efficient and resilient road transport operations, are needed, with the most important being transit standards, such as the TIR system, for border crossings,” Rey-Bellet said.
She stressed the importance of reducing non-tariff barriers, especially for landlocked economies. “Transport costs average at least 50% more in landlocked countries, so reducing non-tariff barriers is key for bolstering their economies,” she said.
According to Rey-Bellet, the adoption of international mechanisms has already produced measurable results in the region. “Central Asia’s road freight volumes increased by 60% following accession to the TIR Convention,” she noted.
She also emphasized the importance of intermodal transport, where different modes of transportation work together to provide flexible and cost-effective solutions. Another priority, according to Rey-Bellet, is increasing private sector participation through public-private partnership mechanisms. “We must engage the private sector through PPP mechanisms to ensure that road infrastructure and border facility upgrades meet on-the-ground realities,” she said.
The IRU representative noted that transport development requires significant investment, but some barriers can be addressed through cost-effective organizational solutions. “Road transport needs robust and resilient infrastructure, which costs billions. But infrastructure shortcomings can be compensated by soft measures, which cost next to nothing yet deliver huge, immediate benefits,” Rey-Bellet concluded.
