Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

The Baku International Sea Trade Port CJSC and the European Union presented a joint project entitled “The EU support to expansion of the operational capabilities of the new Baku Port in Alat,” financed by the EU, on March 16.

Exchange of experience in the areas of port operations, management, business, human resources, labor and environmental protection, and public relations will be held within the program, which will cover 2018-2019. The project consists of five components.

Head of the Baku International Sea Trade Port Taleh Ziyadov, addressing the presentation ceremony, said that the port cooperates with the leading ports and transport and logistics companies of Europe, and with the implementation of the project, this cooperation will be closer.

“Presently, the Baku Port is cooperating with the ports of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy and Slovenia. With this EU-supported project we plan to bring to the region best practices and innovations related to the improvement of operating systems,” he said.

Head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan Kestutis Jankauskas, in turn, noted that the Baku Port holds an important place in the trade network between Asia and Europe.

“I am glad that starting this year European cargo carriers will be able to track location of cargoes, operations and delivery time to neighboring ports through the modern information and communication system of the Baku Port,” he said.

Jankauskas added that the EU is interested in the Baku Port’s receiving the latest experience and knowledge, and it will continue to provide this support.

After the construction of Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat settlement of Baku is finished, it will become the largest port on the Caspian Sea. The first phase of the port’s construction will be completed in May 2018.

After the first phase’s completion, the port’s capacity will be 15 million tons per year, but it will be increased up to 25 million tons of cargo and 500,000 containers per year at the second stage, and up to one million containers per year at the next stage.

In his interview with reporters on the same day, Ziyadov said that the port expects a serious increase in the volume of container handling in the next three to five years.

He noted that the construction within the first phase of the port, which will increase the transshipment capacity up to 15 million tons of cargo or 100,000 TEU (20-feet containers), will be completed in mid-2018. Within the second phase, the capacities will then be brought up to 500,000 TEU.

“Today, 15,000-17,000 TEU are passing through our port, but in the next three to five years, especially with the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the realization of China’s “One Belt - One Route” initiative, we expect a serious growth in container shipments,” Ziyadov noted.

He further noted that registration of companies willing to operate in the free trade zone (FTZ), which is being established in Azerbaijan, will start after the Azerbaijani Parliament adopts the relevant law.

Ziyadov reminded that the draft law on the FTZ, which is being created in the Alat settlement, successfully passed two readings in the Parliament.

“After the third reading and adoption of the law, registration of companies will begin,” he said. “I think that this process will begin before the end of this year.”

The FTZ is expected to bring up to $1 billion just in the first few years. Special tax and customs policy, which will be pursued in the territory of the free trade zone will also stipulate further development and simplification of a number of procedures.

FTZ will be located within the grounds of the new port, covering an area of 100 hectares. Since the new port is being built at the major railway juncture connect­ing the North-South and the East-West railway lines in Azerbaijan, FTZ will also have rail access. Serving as a multimodal transit logis­tics hub, the new port and FTZ will become a major consolidation and distribution centre in Central Eurasia that provides a wide range of value added services.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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