Rashad Nabiyev: Peace in South Caucasus creates foundation for new transport projects

Azerbaijan plans to establish direct connectivity from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean and Black seas in the future. This will be facilitated by the launch of the Zangazur Corridor, as well as peace initiatives supported by Washington, which are creating a political foundation for new transport projects, Azerbaijani Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev said at the Global Gateway conference in Brussels, Report informs.

"Yesterday, some of my colleagues asked me if it would be possible to reach the Black and Mediterranean Seas in 14 days. The answer is yes, since we plan to launch the Zangazur Corridor and other projects," the minister noted.

According to him, the expansion of the Alat port's capacity has become an important step in the development of transport infrastructure: its throughput will increase from 10 to 25 million tons per year by 2030. This step is driven by the rapid growth of cargo traffic – over the past three years, transit volumes through the port have increased fivefold, the minister added.

Thanks to active coordination with partners from Kazakhstan and Georgia, Azerbaijan has eliminated not only physical but also bureaucratic bottlenecks, Nabiyev noted.

"A coordination center has been established in the country, which has allowed us to optimize logistics and reduce delivery times. While in 2022, cargo delivery from China to the Georgian Black Sea ports of Poti and Batumi took 53 days, today it takes only 12-14 days. The number of container trains passing through Azerbaijan has also increased exponentially: from one in 2003 to 270 in 2023, and is expected to reach 1,000 trains by the end of 2025. Along with physical infrastructure, Azerbaijan is actively developing digital transport management technologies, implementing monitoring, planning, and real-time data exchange systems. This makes the Middle Corridor not just a route, but a smart transport and logistics ecosystem based on trust, transparency, and innovation," he concluded.