BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 21. The Middle
Corridor should be transformed into an economic ecosystem, reads
the “Trade Study Report – Trade Sector Development in Azerbaijan:
Policies, Constraints and Opportunities”, issued by the EU.
The report says that against the backdrop of changes in global
supply chains and geopolitical tensions in recent years, the
importance of the Middle Corridor has increased significantly,
while the volume of cargo transportation along the corridor has
risen considerably.
“Azerbaijan has implemented a number of important measures to
expand the access of the Middle Corridor to the country’s transport
and logistics capabilities. To maximize the benefits of the Middle
Corridor, forward-looking policies are needed to transform it from
a “route through which cargo passes through the country” into an
“economic ecosystem where cargo, capital, technology, and
production generate value within the country.” This transformation
would turn the corridor from serving merely a transit function into
a large-scale economic corridor.
This is because revenues derived solely from transit mainly
consist of revenues from railway, port, road, and logistics
services. The economic corridor model, by contrast, generates
greater added value through additional activities, such as
manufacturing, packaging and sorting, re-export, warehousing and
distribution, financial and insurance services, R&D and
technology services, and repair and maintenance services,” reads
the report.
The report’s authors note that Azerbaijan’s Alat Free Economic
Zone (Alat FEZ), industrial parks, industrial districts, agroparks,
logistics infrastructure, and investment promotion mechanisms
already provide an important foundation for this
transformation.
“In the next stage, the main focus should be on integrating
these opportunities into a unified economic system, developing
complementary production and service sectors among economic
centres, and establishing regional value chains. If these policies
are implemented successfully, the Middle Corridor could become not
merely a means of increasing Azerbaijan’s transit revenues, but one
of the key drivers of the non-oil industry, exports, and foreign
investment attraction,” says the report.
The Middle Corridor is a multimodal trade and transport route
connecting Asia and Europe through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea,
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye. The route begins in China and runs
through Central Asia before crossing the Caspian Sea and continuing
through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye to European markets.
The Middle Corridor is being developed as an alternative to
traditional northern and southern transport routes, providing
connectivity between Asian markets, including China, and Europe.
The World Bank says targeted investments and reforms along the
corridor could significantly increase trade volumes and reduce
travel times by 2040.
