Regional States Consolidate the Resilience of the Middle Corridor (Part 2)

Regional States Consolidate the Resilience of the Middle Corridor (Part 2)

Executive Summary:

• The Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), is becoming increasingly institutionalized as regional actors shift to more structured forms of regulatory harmonization and integrated logistics. 
• Digitalization has become a central pillar of TITR development, highlighted by new agreements on electronic freight documentation, data-sharing systems, and e-permits. Infrastructure expansion is accelerating across rail, port, and maritime sectors.
• Azerbaijan and Georgia have modernized the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway, Azerbaijan is expanding Port of Baku shipping capacity, Kazakhstan is enlarging Aktau and Kuryk port facilities, and Uzbekistan is pursuing new ferry links to strengthen its role in Trans-Caspian trade.

From May 12–13, Astana hosted the 21st International Capacity-Building Seminar on Trade and Transport Facilitation. The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Transport Corridor Europe–Caucasus–Asia (TRACECA) Permanent Secretariat, and the Government of Kazakhstan jointly organized the seminar (UNECE, accessed May 25). The seminar focused on developing practical approaches to multimodal digital transport corridors based on UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) standards, with particular attention to the interoperability of information systems, inter-agency coordination, and the mutual recognition of electronic transport documents. Discussions also covered the expansion of pilot projects, including the digitalization of railway consignment notes and data exchange between Caspian seaports (TRACECA, May 14).

The Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), is becoming increasingly institutionalized as regional actors shift to more structured forms of long-term transport governance, regulatory harmonization, and integrated logistical management. The corridor is evolving into a broader geoeconomic ecosystem incorporating logistics hubs, smart railways, multimodal infrastructure, digital trade systems, and industrial investment platforms. These large-scale developments are being supported by expanding political coordination, infrastructure synchronization, and digital integration mechanisms across Central Asia, the South Caucasus, the Caspian Basin, and the Black Sea region.

Digital transformation has become one of the defining pillars of the Middle Corridor’s modernization strategy. On February 10, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Georgia inked a protocol to advance the digitalization of freight transportation and increase cargo volumes along the Middle Corridor (ADY, February 10). The agreement focuses on improving the corridor’s competitiveness through coordinated railway cooperation, corridor diagnostics, and the adoption of digital logistics solutions (see EDM, March 17).

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), Kazakhstan’s state-owned railway company, has recently expanded technological cooperation with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) telecommunications giant Huawei. On March 6, KZT and Huawei reached an agreement to cooperate on the digitalization of Kazakhstan’s rail system, aligning with Astana’s broader efforts to develop intelligent transport infrastructure (Qazinform News Agency, March 6). By deploying Huawei’s advanced enterprise networking solutions—including AirEngine Wi-Fi 6, SD-WAN architecture, and the iMaster NCE-Campus management platform—KTZ aims to modernize railway connectivity across stations and operational hubs. The project is designed to enhance wireless coverage, improve network reliability, enable real-time monitoring, and reduce maintenance costs through artificial intelligence (AI)-powered operations management (Huawei, accessed May 25). 

On May 14, speaking at the Kazakh–Turkish Business Forum, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed the joint implementation of an e-permit system that would enable logistics procedures to be handled electronically (President of Kazakhstan, May 14). The initiative aims to improve transparency and reduce administrative costs. Tokayev also expressed support for aligning the Middle Corridor with the U.S.-backed Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), known in Azerbaijan as the Zangezur Corridor (Kazakh Invest, May 14).

Kazakhstan called on the European Union to join its electronic permit exchange initiative for international transport as part of broader efforts to modernize and digitalize cross-border logistics during a May 22 meeting on strengthening the Middle Corridor (Qazinform News Agency, May 22). The meeting brought together Kazakh Vice Minister of Transport Zhanibek Taizhanov and Sergio Oliete Josa, head of the Sustainable Transport and Urban Development Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships. The initiative aims to replace paper-based procedures with digital systems for issuing and exchanging transport permits among partner countries (Caspian Post, May 22). 

On May 18, the transport ministers of Georgia and Azerbaijan signed a protocol formalizing the modernization of the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) railway line. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze were both present for the signing. The upgrade focused on the 184-kilometer (114-mile) section of the railway passing through Georgia, including 13 stations, 55 bridges, eight traction substations, and over 300 buildings. The event also launched BTKI Railways LLC, established by subsidiaries of Azerbaijan Railways and Georgia’s Marabda–Kartsakhi Railway to oversee management of the line going forward (AZERTAC, May 18).

The maritime dimension of the corridor also underwent substantial expansion in recent months. Azerbaijan’s shipbuilding capacity continues to grow as the Baku Shipyard approaches the delivery of its latest vessel. On January 9, the third RoPax-type ferry commissioned by the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) entered its final stage of construction (AZERNEWS, January 9). The new ferry will have a maximum speed of 14 knots (16 miles per hour) and a length of 154.5 meters (506.9 feet). It will be capable of carrying up to 100 passengers alongside either 56 tank-type rail wagons or 50 trucks (Report News Agency, January 9).

On January 26, Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) and the World Bank discussed expanding cooperation on the development of the Port of Baku (ADY, January 26). Azerbaijan announced its own expansion plans on May 6, unveiling a development strategy to increase its annual cargo handling capacity from 15 million to 25 million tons (see EDM, April 23; Trend News Agency, May 6). The expansion plans and modernization efforts are aligned with the government-backed Action Plan for 2024–2026, which prioritizes the development of physical infrastructure, the improvement of operational efficiency, stronger coordination with international partners, and the digitalization of transport processes (Trend News Agency, May 6; Monitoring and Evaluation Group, accessed May 19). 

Kazakhstan has also accelerated its efforts to develop maritime connectivity across the Caspian Sea. On April 23, Kazakhstan announced the expansion of container hubs at the ports of Aktau and Kuryk, further increasing Caspian transport capacity. Kazakhstan is rapidly expanding the capacity of its Caspian ports because transit volumes along the Middle Corridor have tripled over the past five years (Caspian Post, April 23). The ports of Aktau and Kuryk are central to this strategy, with container-handling capacity expected to increase from 80,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 300,000 TEUs annually by 2029 (Astana Times, April 23). 

Uzbekistan is moving to strengthen its position as a key inland logistics hub by expanding its access to maritime trade routes through the Caspian Sea as part of broader Middle Corridor development. Tashkent is actively exploring the establishment of new ferry services that would connect its export–import flows with ports in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan, improving integration with the wider Trans-Caspian transport network (ANHOR, May 6; Business Turkmenistan, May 15). On May 23, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan discussed strengthening cooperation in transport and logistics during a meeting in Ashgabat between Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov. Both sides emphasized that transport and logistics remain key areas of cooperation, given their geographic positions and shared interest in enhancing regional connectivity (Trend News Agency, May 23).

The Middle Corridor is becoming an increasingly institutionalized and technologically integrated Eurasian logistics system. Recent developments demonstrate unprecedented momentum in railway integration, transport coordination, digitalization, port expansion, and multimodal logistics connectivity among regional stakeholders and international partners. Expanding political coordination and high-level multilateral agreements indicate that the Middle Corridor is becoming more firmly embedded within broader geopolitical and geoeconomic frameworks linking Europe, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and the PRC.