Port of Baku at the crossroad of global transport corridors

Baku, Azerbaijan (Ports Europe) April 30 - The Baku International Sea Trade Port and state-owned Bulgarian Ports Infrastructure (BPI) Company will discuss at the IAPH World Ports Conference in China, on May 6-10, the current state of transport and logistics in the Caspian region, the development of multimodal transportation along the Trans-Caspian international transport route as well as China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The Bulgarian side is also looking at the possibility to enhance the Persian Gulf - Black Sea transport corridor and will continue to support the application of the Baku International Sea Trade Port to obtain the observer status in the European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO). The new Silk Road (part of the Belt and Road initiative also known as One Belt, One Road, or OBOR) is a Chinese economic strategy to seek better access for Chinese-made products in European markets, which includes acquiring stakes in ports and other transport facilities, and cooperation agreements with countries along the Silk Road routes. Headquartered in Sofia, BPI manages the infrastructure of the public transport ports of national importance and provides transportation management and cargo delivery services. The company has four territorial and three specialized divisions in Burgas, Varna, Lom and Ruse. The talks with BPI, are one of multiple efforts by Azerbaijan to develop Baku as an Eurasian transport hub, mainly by linking up with regional transport corridors. The port of Baku is an important participant of both East-West and North-South corridors which are important for Bulgaria’s efforts to get an access to Central Asia. Baku International Sea Trade Port was commissioned in 2018, covering the area of 117 hectares. The port can simultaneously receive up to 12 ships. The Baku port was previously located within the city, but due to the efforts of Azerbaijan to become one of the major commercial and transportation hubs in the Caspian region, it was decided to move it to a new location, 70 km south of the capital Baku, near a small town of Alat (Alyat), which is located at the strategic crossroads of regional railroads and highways. The first stage of construction of Baku International Sea Trade Port (Alat) will provide it with capacity of 10-11 million tons of cargo and 50,000 containers (TEU) per year. The second stage will enable the handling of 17 million tons of cargo and 150,000 containers, the third and final stage of port’s development will increase its capacity to 25 million tons of freight and 1 million containers. In the future, it is planned to create a free economic zone in the surrounding areas, including the territory of the port. The port in Alat is a transportation hub linking the west (Turkey and EU), south (Iran and India) and north (Russia). The port is linked to existing highways and railways, connecting the port to all regions of Azerbaijan. In 2018, all terminals of the Port of Baku handled 3.8 million tons of cargo, of which 84.5% was transit freight. In the first quarter of 2019, the port handled over 1 million tons of cargo, 83.1% was transit freight. The International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a 7,200 km long multi-modal network of ship, rail, and road routes for transport of freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe. The objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Baku, Astrakhan, Tehran, Bandar Abbas and Bandar Anzali. The aim of the corridor is not just to increase trade between member countries, but also to standardise tariffs and customs duties. Baku port also serves as a link to transport corridors which target European markets. The foreign ministers of Romania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan have signed in March a declaration for the promotion of a multimodal corridor for the transport of goods between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea (Caspian Sea – Black Sea International Transport Corridor project – ITC-CSBS). It will link the ports of Constanţa (Romania), Poti (Georgia), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan). The project was launched by Romania and Turkmenistan to create an intermodal transport route for maritime, river, road and rail freight transport between central and northern Europe and the southern Caucasus and central Asia, with the prospect of connecting to the Asia-Pacific region. Both countries have modern multimodal ports which, by and large, stand idle. The corridor is based on the geographic contiguity between Romania, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, and the services offered by the ports of Constanţa (Romania), Poti (Georgia), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan). The new transport route is being created on the basis of the Trans-Caspian (Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey) and Lazurite/Lapis Lazuli (Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan) corridors. In December 2018, Baku port handled the first cargo transit operation on the international route Lapis Lazuli, linking Turkey to Afghanistan. On this route, cargo is transported by rail and via highways through the Afghan city of Turgundi and enter Ashgabat in Turkmenistan, to the Caspian port of Turkmenbashi. The corridor continues to Baku, then through Tbilisi (Georgia) to Ankara (Turkey) with branches to Georgia's Poti and Batumi ports, then from Ankara to Istanbul. Currently there are three land corridors between China and Europe: a southern one, via Iran, made impractical by American sanctions; a middle one, via the Caspian Sea, and thirdly, across Georgia to the Black Sea, made impractical by the lack of modern deep-sea Georgian ports; and a northern corridor, via Russia, on which most east-west land trade currently flows. Baku is also part of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor. It starts from Southeast Asia and China, runs through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and further to European countries Copyright (C) Ports Europe. All Rights Reserved. 2019.

Port of Baku at the crossroad of global transport corridors

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Port of Baku at the crossroad of global transport corridors

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