BAKU: Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are planning to establish a joint venture aimed at enhancing cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, an informed source told Trend News Agency. The initiative is part of a broader effort to strengthen transport and transit cooperation between Baku and Tashkent.

According to Trend News Agency, the joint venture is specifically designed to improve transportation along the critical Trans-Caspian corridor, which has seen significant growth in cargo traffic in recent years. In addition to the joint venture, the two countries are discussing several specific measures to expand their collaboration in the transportation sector. These measures include the establishment of ferry production, the creation of storage infrastructure, and the transition to electronic document exchange.

The increase in cargo transportation from Uzbekistan to Europe, which rose by 20 percent in 2023, highlights the importance of the Caspian
Sea’s network of seaports, such as Baku, Astara, Lankaran, and Sumgayit, in facilitating this growth. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route has been operational since 2014, but the period from 2023 to 2024 marks a significant uptick in cargo volumes, with 2.7 million tons of cargo transported in 2023 alone. Projections for 2024 suggest that the corridor could handle over 4.2 million tons of cargo, underscoring the strategic importance of the proposed joint venture.