BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 22. The European
Union’s decision to mobilize up to 12 billion euros for the
development of the Middle Corridor has become one of the most
notable signs of this route’s growing importance for European
transportation and trade policy. European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen, delivering her annual State of the Union
address, announced a new international connectivity project
designed to directly link the South Caucasus and Central Asia to
the European market.
“Today, I can announce a new international project in the field
of transport connectivity. It will directly connect the South
Caucasus and Central Asia to the European market, what we call the
Middle Corridor. Through the Global Gateway, we intend to attract
up to 12 billion euros in public and private investment. Our goal
is to diversify routes, triple trade flows, and significantly
reduce cargo transit times by 2030,” she stated.
In response to a Trend's inquiry, the European Commission clarified
that the announced amount includes both public and private
investments. At the same time, officials in Brussels expect that
collaboration with partner countries, international financial
institutions, and the private sector will secure more than 12
billion euros in investments for the corridor. Thus, this is not
merely a matter of financing a single transport route. The EU
effectively views the Middle Corridor as part of a broader system
for diversifying trade links, designed to make supply chains
between Europe and Asia more resilient, faster, and more
predictable.
It is precisely in this context that Azerbaijan’s role stands
out. Geographical location alone does not make a country a
transportation hub. For the Middle Corridor to become attractive to
international business, it was necessary to transform Azerbaijan’s
location between the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus, and Türkiye
into a functioning multimodal system.
In recent years, Azerbaijan has consistently invested in its
railway, port, road, and logistics infrastructure. Key elements
include the Baku International Commercial Seaport, the
Baku–Tbilisi–Kars Railway, the Caspian Fleet, logistics centers,
and the modernization of the railway network. The modernization of
the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars line is of particular importance here. Upon
completion of the project, the line’s capacity was increased to 5
million metric tons per year. This allows the Azerbaijani section
to be viewed not merely as a potential link in a future route, but
as infrastructure designed to handle growing transit traffic.
Port infrastructure is also developing in parallel. According to
data from Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Digital Development and
Transport, from January through July 2026, container throughput at
the port of Alat grew by 20% year-over-year, reaching 72,370 TEU,
while dry cargo transshipment increased by 82%, reaching 1.4
million metric tons. This is of fundamental importance for the
Middle Corridor, as its competitiveness is determined not by a
single section of the railway or a single sea crossing, but by the
ability of the entire chain to operate in sync.
The main result — not just kilometers, but also
time
For a shipper, a geographically short route does not necessarily
mean an attractive route. Delivery times, cost, predictability, and
the ability to track the shipment throughout its journey are of
decisive importance. That is why digitalization has become
Azerbaijan’s next area of focus.
The country is implementing electronic transport and transit
tools, including e-TIR, e-CMR, e-Permit, and e-CIM/SMGS electronic
waybills. A “Single Window” information system has also been
created—a digital logistics platform designed to speed up document
processing and simplify interaction among participants in the
transportation process.
Azerbaijani authorities note that, thanks to infrastructure and
digital reforms, the transit time for cargo along the China-Europe
route—which stood at 38–53 days a few years ago—has been reduced to
an average of 12 days.
It is precisely these changes that are transforming the Middle
Corridor from a geographical alternative into a commercially more
predictable route. In essence, Azerbaijan is working to reduce one
of the main risks for shippers: uncertainty.
The growth in freight volume indicates that demand is already
taking shape. According to data from the Kazakhstan Railway
Company, 44,200 TEU were transported via the Trans-Caspian
International Transport Route in the first eight months of 2026,
including 419 container trains from China. Compared to the same
period in 2025, container traffic volume increased by 58%, and the
number of container trains rose by 84%. At the same time, route
participants are already discussing increasing the number of
container trains from China to 600 in 2026 and to 800–1,000 in
2027.
For Azerbaijan, this means the need to develop not only its own
segment but also to coordinate the entire supply chain — from the
Caspian ports to the Caucasus rail lines and onward access to the
European market. This is precisely why the Azerbaijan Railways’
work on tariffs, attracting return cargo, coordinating with ports
and partners, and efforts to more actively reach out directly to
shippers in the European market are of particular importance. This
is an important stage: while the initial focus was on attracting
Chinese and Central Asian cargo, the route’s participants are now
striving to ensure a more balanced flow in both directions.
Azerbaijan is reducing the fragmentation of the
route
One of the long-standing challenges of the Middle Corridor is
that it passes through several countries and includes rail,
maritime, and road segments. Therefore, the efficiency of the
entire route depends not so much on any single country as on the
coordinated actions of all its participants. In this regard,
Azerbaijan is striving to serve not only as a transit territory but
also as one of the coordination hubs.
Infrastructure modernization is accompanied by negotiations on
tariffs, digitalization, border procedures, data exchange, and the
synchronization of transportation systems. The TITR working group,
which includes railway administrations, ports, shipping companies,
and logistics firms from the countries along the route, is now
discussing not only infrastructure construction but also specific
issues related to its joint operation.
Why has the Middle Corridor become more important for
Europe right now?
The EU’s growing interest in this route cannot be separated from
changes in global trade. Following the outbreak of the war in
Ukraine, European companies and institutions were faced with the
need to diversify transport routes between Europe and Asia.
Disruptions to traditional maritime supply chains, including the
situation surrounding the Red Sea, created additional pressure. As
a result, the issue of supply chain resilience has moved beyond the
scope of transportation policy alone. For Europe, having multiple
alternative routes has become a key component of economic
resilience.
At the same time, the Middle Corridor has one important
advantage: it connects China and Central Asia to the European
market via the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus, and Türkiye. Its
development therefore addresses several EU objectives at once:
diversifying routes, strengthening trade ties with Central Asia and
the South Caucasus, and reducing dependence on specific transport
routes. The European Commission explicitly links the new initiative
to the need to diversify routes, triple trade flows, and reduce
transit times by 2030.
In January 2026, the European Union and Azerbaijan agreed to
strengthen cooperation within the framework of the Global Gateway,
including in the areas of transportation, digital, energy, and
trade connectivity. At that time, with the participation of the
EBRD, work began on a feasibility study for the Nakhchivan Railway
as part of the broader Trans-Caspian transport connectivity
initiative. Thus, the current decision to mobilize up to 12 billion
euros does not appear to be an isolated step, but rather a
continuation of the European interest in regional connectivity that
was already taking shape.
TRIPP could add another level of connectivity to the
corridor
The development of new transportation links in the South
Caucasus is another contributing factor.
In this context, the Trump Route for International Peace and
Prosperity (TRIPP) deserves special attention. The document
describes TRIPP as a route intended to promote regional integration
and trade development. For the Middle Corridor, the significance of
TRIPP lies primarily in the potential expansion of the South
Caucasus’s transportation network. It is precisely this network
effect that is particularly important for the EU: the corridor’s
value increases as it ceases to be a single, fixed chain and
transforms into a system of interconnected routes.
In recent years, Azerbaijan has consistently expanded its
infrastructure capacity, modernized its rail and port facilities,
developed its Caspian Fleet, digitized transit procedures, and
participated in coordinating the activities of the route’s
participants.
The result was a combination of several factors that are
particularly important for European businesses: shorter transit
times, increasing throughput capacity, digitalization, the
expansion of multimodal capabilities, and a gradual improvement in
the predictability of shipments. According to data from the
Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, the total volume of
transit cargo through Azerbaijan from January through July 2026
exceeded 9.1 million metric tons, reaching its highest level in the
past five years. At the same time, shipments along the East–West
Corridor grew by 16.5% year-over-year. This points to a significant
shift: Azerbaijan is no longer merely offering the EU a
geographically advantageous location. It is establishing the
infrastructural and institutional framework that enables this
location to serve the interests of international freight flows.
This is precisely why the European initiative, worth up to 12
billion euros, represents a logical next step.
Brussels is effectively shifting from supporting individual
elements of transport connectivity to attempting to scale up the
entire system — from Central Asia through the Caspian Sea and the
South Caucasus to the European market.
For Azerbaijan, this represents both recognition of the work
already done and a new challenge. The more European and Asian cargo
that flows along the route, the higher the demands on its speed,
cost, and reliability.
Consequently, the next stage in the development of the Middle
Corridor will no longer be determined solely by infrastructure
construction. The route’s competitiveness will depend on how
successfully the countries involved can harmonize tariffs, digital
systems, border procedures, and maritime and rail transport, as
well as ensure traffic flow in both directions. It is precisely
this transition from a separate transit route to a unified,
predictable, and interconnected system that explains why the Middle
Corridor is now becoming one of the priority areas of European
connectivity policy.
