On the development of railway logistics in Central Asia

On the development of railway logistics in Central Asia

Last week, the first deliveries of copper concentrate began via a new route bypassing Russia from Uzbekistan to Europe. More than 90 containers are currently on the way along the so-called "Middle Corridor", the end point of which is the port of Burgas.

🔻 What are we talking about?

▪️The "Middle Corridor" or the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route is the path from China to Europe. The headquarters of the Association of carriers of the "Middle Corridor" is located in Astana.

▪️Until recently, the main transport artery from Central Asia to Europe was the Northern Route, which passes through Russia and connects Europe and Asia. On December 5, a batch of fertilizers was sent from Uzbekistan to Lithuania.

The EU leadership promoted (https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/uzbekistan-starts-shipping-copper-europe-bypassing-russia-2022-12-19/) the “Middle Corridor” as an alternative to the “Northern Route” . The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD (https://central.asia-news.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_ca/features/2022/08/09/feature-02)) has already announced that they are ready to invest billions of euros in development cargo routes between Europe and Asia bypassing Russia.

▪️Logistics companies from Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia took part in sending the train. On the way, the train is transported twice by ferries: along the Caspian Sea - from Turkmenistan Turkmenbashi to Azerbaijani Baku, and along the Black Sea - from Georgian Poti to Bulgarian Burgas.

🔻Turkish influence

▪️Turkish companies are rapidly gaining (https://t.me/istanbul_wolf/1281) weight in the region (https://t.me/istanbul_wolf/1281) and are also striving to expand their logistics capabilities. Ankara claims that the use of the "Middle Corridor" is associated with fewer geopolitical risks for Beijing. In fact, if the entire flow of goods is closed to Turkey, the throughput of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles may simply not be enough. And then it will be possible to revive the Istanbul Canal project (https://turk.expert/istanbul/kanal.html) and attract strategic investments for decades to come on favorable terms.

▪️In such conditions, the Turkish authorities will retain control over the entire flow of goods from China. In fact, we are talking about a monopoly position in the regional logistics market with all the ensuing consequences for suppliers from the Middle Kingdom.

🔺The growth of transportation always gives impetus to the development of the region. For transit countries, this means creating new jobs through investment in infrastructure and entering new markets. Domestic investments in the Central Asian region have traditionally been concentrated in industry, the electric power industry and the construction of social facilities. This did not meet the requirements of local elites seeking to gain access to European markets.

At the same time, transnational rail transport is always associated with the supply of smuggled goods. Together with an increase in the flow of goods, the volume of drug supplies to Europe may increase manifold: more convenient and modern logistics will allow us to abandon the classic "caravans". In the region, this will cause an increase in drug use and the criminalization of society.

www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com