Zangezur corridor: A new impetus for logistics in Caspian region Caliber.Az review

Over recent years, several European countries, Türkiye, China, and Central Asian countries have come up with various initiatives to expand transit traffic through the territory of Azerbaijan as part of the Middle Corridor routes. The most important direction in this regard is the implementation of the Zangezur corridor project: our country has been forming its infrastructure in the Eastern Zangezur economic region for the third year, and in early October, the foundation stone for the Azerbaijani-Iranian road section of the route was laid.

The prospects for the development of this transport and logistics project were discussed in Zangilan and Baku during a two-day conference dedicated to the topic “International transport and logistics corridor: Development impulses from Zangilan”.

The two-day forum, dedicated to the prospects for the development of trans-regional transport corridors, was organized with the support of the special mission of the Azerbaijani president in Jabrayil, Gubadli, and Zangilan districts, the State Customs Committee, the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, as well as the Institute of Economics under the Ministry of Science and Education. Over two hundred foreign guests from 15 countries and representatives of eight international organizations and financial institutions took part in the conference.

During panel discussions on November 16-17, employees of domestic and foreign government agencies, international organizations, financial institutions, think tanks, scientists, and representatives of transport companies discussed the development and expansion of international transport corridors, establishing business connections between interested parties.

At the same time, the seventh meeting of the transport ministers of the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was held in Zangilan: the ministers discussed aspects of cargo transportation in the Caspian Sea, considered the possibilities of intensifying cooperation in the fields of civil aviation, railways, digitalization of transit transportation, and also outlined new tasks in the transport sector, based on the decisions made on November 3 at the 10th anniversary summit of the OTS in Astana.

There was also a presentation of the Digital Transport and Logistics Platform developed by our country, designed to transfer the logistics mechanisms of the Middle Corridor into a single electronic format, and a communiqué was signed following the meeting of the transport departments of the OTS.

“The inclusion of the Zangezur corridor in the road map in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan can become a significant impetus for the development of the Middle Corridor and the expansion of transport between East and West,” Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev said in his address to the international conference.

“During the Soviet era, 7-12 million tons of cargo were transported annually along transport lines extended through Zangezur.”

The minister emphasized that, contrary to the Tripartite Statement, over the past three years, Armenia has not opened transport communications in the region, however, in this case, there are alternatives and the possibility of another choice.

The reminder about alternative routes concerns very real options for the formation of cross-border infrastructure for this corridor: for example, on October 6, 2023, near the village of Agband, Zangilan District, a ceremony was held to lay the foundation for a road bridge and future border and customs infrastructure facilities on the border with Iran.

The new bridge is a key component of the 123.6-kilometer-long Horadiz-Jabrail-Zangilan-Agband highway under construction; in the future, this route will connect with the transport communications of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR) with an exit towards Türkiye.

The formation of the infrastructure of the Zangezur corridor on the territory of Azerbaijan is progressing very successfully: in less than three years, more than two-thirds of the 110.4-kilometre single-track railway segment of this corridor, passing through the territory of Jabrayil and Zangilan districts, has been laid to the border village of Aghband. The laying of this steel line is being carried out by Turkish companies with the support of local contractors, and all work is planned to be completed by the end of 2024.

In turn, since October 2021, the construction of the first technical category highway Horadiz-Jabrayil-Zangilan-Agband with a length of 123.6 km has been underway: recently, efforts on this project have been accelerated, and by the end of this year, 90 per cent of the total volume of work will be completed.

Baku independently finances all work on the formation of the infrastructure of the Zangezur corridor on the territory of the republic, at the same time, plans are being consistently implemented to extend this route through the territory of neighboring countries. In particular, the prospects for Azerbaijani-Iranian cooperation on the formation of the infrastructure of the Zangezur transport corridor were discussed during the 16th OTS summit held recently in Tashkent.

“For three years after the Second Karabakh War, Armenia refused and refuses to fulfill its obligations, namely, the provision of travel from the main part of Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan.

This is their choice, I think they made a big mistake,” emphasized Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who took part in the summit. The president expressed satisfaction with the joint work of representatives of Iran and Azerbaijan to agree on the route of the railway and highway along the southern bank of the Araz River and expressed confidence that this project will be implemented in a short time.

The Azerbaijani president noted that in the future our country will have two transport routes, one through Astara, and the other through Agband, and both will be available to neighbors in the Caspian region and other partners of our republic.

Particular attention is paid to the implementation of transport initiatives along the Zangezur corridor in the Turkic-speaking countries of Central Asia, which consider this land route as the optimal access to the market of Türkiye, the countries of the Middle East and Europe.

“Azerbaijan is one of the key players in the field of global logistics and transport connecting Europe with Asia: the Zangezur corridor will create new opportunities for socio-economic growth throughout the region, including for the Turkic states.

Our main goal is the development of the Middle Corridor, strengthening transport and transit cooperation and eliminating obstacles on this path,” OTS Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliyev said at the forum in Zangilan. The secretary-general also mentioned that the OTS strategy is to turn the Middle Corridor into a safe transport route, and the Caspian region into a transport hub of international significance, as soon as possible.

Indeed, Azerbaijan today is a key beneficiary of the changes in transport and logistics realities that have occurred over the past two years associated with the war in Ukraine, anti-Russian sanctions, and a sharp reduction in transit along the Northern Corridor. Several European countries, Türkiye, China, and Central Asian countries are coming up with various initiatives to establish transit transportation through the territory of Azerbaijan within the framework of the Middle Corridor.

This work is actively progressing, including the combined sea and rail component of this corridor, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), which also includes the transshipment of goods through the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway line, which has been in operation for five years now. In particular, the transshipment of non-oil cargo, including container cargo by trains and trucks along the Middle Corridor routes, takes approximately 20-25 days, which is significantly less than the transshipment of cargo from China and Southeast Asia by sea through the Suez Canal, on which on average takes one and a half months.

“Due to the geopolitical changes of the last two years, the importance of the Middle Corridor has increased dramatically and will lead to changes in the transport and logistics sectors in the future. Delivery of goods via traditional routes between East and West and in the opposite direction takes 53 days, and in the framework of cooperation with the countries of the region over the past year, we have been able to reduce cargo transportation along the Middle Corridor to 22 days,” Minister Rashad Nabiyev said.

The minister recalled that the corridor road map was developed jointly with the countries participating in the project; this document defines the responsibilities of all parties, and successful work is underway to synchronize and unify border, customs, tariff, and other rules and regulations.