BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 8. Azerbaijan
Railways CJSC (ADY) is working to attract return cargo flows to
ensure the further development of the Middle Corridor, ADY
Chairman’s Adviser Emil Mammadov said, Trend's correspondent reports from the
event.
He made the remarks during the 5th International Freight
Transport Forum in the Black Sea and Caspian Regions — 2026, held
in Baku.
He said that the issue of return cargo is of interest not only
to ADY but also to other participants of the Middle Corridor, as it
is essential for ensuring the corridor’s long-term development.
“Over the past several years, we have mainly focused on attracting
cargo originating from China and Central Asia. We have worked to
bring these cargo flows to the Middle Corridor. Alongside the
development of freight routes, large-scale infrastructure projects
have been implemented at ports and railway networks along the
Middle Corridor, including in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
At the same time, various measures are being carried out to improve
the predictability of the corridor’s operations, so that shippers
clearly understand transportation conditions and delivery timelines
for their cargo,” Mammadov said.
According to the ADY official, efforts to attract return cargo
represent the next stage in the development of the Middle Corridor.
“The corridor itself cannot develop in a chaotic or fragmented
manner. We are working to ensure its systematic development. This
requires return cargo flows. They will allow us to increase the
volume of goods transported via the Middle Corridor and optimize
transportation costs by enabling the return of a certain number of
containers to their countries of origin,” he said.
Mammadov noted that the current imbalance in cargo flows is not
an ideal model, as it also depends on the economic development of
countries exporting and receiving goods. “Today, we are dealing
with China, which accounts for and supplies a significant share of
global trade volumes and exports from its territory. This trend is
observed not only on our route but worldwide. Therefore, cargo
flows are mainly moving from East to West,” he said.
He added that ADY is also working to attract cargo flows from
West to East. “We are also focusing on activities in the European
market, because until now the Middle Corridor has been promoted
mainly among the corridor’s participants. Events were held in
China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and, in the best case,
Türkiye, but there was limited outreach to the European market with
the Middle Corridor agenda. ADY has begun active cooperation with
European partners to establish systematic efforts aimed at
attracting cargo flows to the Middle Corridor from West to East. We
believe that concepts promoted together with European partners will
receive greater trust and predictability on the European
continent,” Mammadov said.
According to him, ADY is working to establish mutually
beneficial cooperation with European partners to attract additional
cargo flows to the Middle Corridor. Mammadov also noted that the
issue of which categories of goods can be attracted to the route
requires separate consideration.
