Envoy says Alat FTZ makes Baku Port more attractive for Turkey [PHOTO]
By Laman Ismayilova
Alat Free Trade Zone will make Baku Port more attractive for Turkey, said Ambassador Erkan Orzoral as he met Director General of Baku International Sea Trade Port Taleh Ziyadov.
President Aliyev signed a decree on March 17, 2016, on measures to create a free trade zone type special economic area covering the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat township of Baku’s Garadagh District.
Taleh Ziyadov informed the ambassador about the condition created at the Baku Port, Azertac reported.
The ambassador said Baku Port is a door which unites Turkey with Asia.
“Free Trade Port project will give an important contribution to Azerbaijan`s economy. The importance of Baku Port will significantly increase following the opening of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project,” he added.
The 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.
Moreover, seeking to become the largest logistics zone in the Caspian region, the FTZ will offer comprehensive logistics services to its residents and international clients, serving as a major regional intermodal distribution hub. Taking into account that many manufacturers now prefer to put the final touches onto their products at the distribution centres, such as FTZ’s nearby consumer markets, the provision of value added logistics services at the FTZ becomes an even more compelling prospect. This would not only generate significant non-oil trade for Baku Port at Alat and Azerbaijan in whole, but would establish it as a regional logistics leader with all three main services of import/export, transit shipment and logistics.
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