New Silk Road: Agreement Between China, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan to Build Intermodal Port

China, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan signed an agreement to set up a joint company to build a new logistics center to be used for loading goods at the port of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea. The agreement, which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) put forward by President Xi Jinping, was signed by Talekh Ziyadov, CEO of Azerbaijan’s Baku International Sea Trade Port Port Company, and Nurlan Sauranbayev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kazakhstan State Railways JSC, and Yuan Xiaojun, CEO of China’s Xi’an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Company.

Currently, the development of trade flows between China, Central Asia, and the former Soviet republics of the Caucasus is limited by the poor port infrastructure of Azerbaijan, where Chinese goods arrive after crossing the Caspian Sea. The port of Baku, the central point of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor (TITR), which itself is an integral part of the BRI, will represent a vital link between China and Europe, up to the Caspian Sea through the territories of the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, and after the Caspian Sea through the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey.

For this reason, the new project involves the development of modern infrastructure for an intermodal cargo terminal on an area of 40 hectares in the port of Baku, which extends over 400 hectares and is located 70 kilometers from the capital of Azerbaijan. The port is currently capable of handling Ro-Ro vessels, ferries, and general cargo. Infrastructure improvements at the Port of Baku, including the construction of a new container terminal, are expected to increase cargo traffic and speed up delivery times along this important trade corridor.