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Akbar Novruz

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Azerbaijan is taking decisive steps to maximize the potential of the Middle Corridor by enhancing infrastructure and streamlining cross-border operations, Azernews reports.

Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev made this statement during his speech at the 5th Tbilisi Silk Road Forum.

“We have been working closely with our partners in Kazakhstan and especially Georgia, and I am grateful to them for ensuring the full use of the existing infrastructure,” Nabiyev said, emphasizing the deepening regional cooperation underpinning the Middle Corridor’s success.

He noted that cargo transportation through Azerbaijan has increased substantially since 2022. “The volume of cargo passing through our territory has increased almost fivefold. As for container transportation, in 2023 we had only one or two block trains from China. Last year, this figure increased to almost 280, and in the first nine months of this year we increased this figure to 290. We expect about 400 container trains by the end of the year, and this is not the limit,” he said.

Highlighting progress in reducing transport times, Nabiyev added, “When we started, it took about 53 days for the train to reach the ports of Poti and Batumi from the China-Kazakh border. Now we have managed to reduce this time to 15–18 days, but this is not the end. Our colleagues in Brussels have noted that it is quite possible to reduce this time to about 14 days, and we believe in this.”

He also underlined Azerbaijan’s commitment to addressing both infrastructural and procedural challenges along the route. “In August, we worked on the corridor project together with the Georgian and Kazakh railways. We engaged a consulting company to audit the section of the route—from the Kazakh border to the ports of Poti and Batumi, as well as our terminal in Akhal-Tekelyak. This allowed us to identify both infrastructure and bureaucratic obstacles. And in September, we signed a roadmap that includes specific action points to be implemented by 2028,” Nabiyev concluded.