Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2. The Trans-Caspian
Transport Corridor has become a central artery in the rapid
economic growth of Central Asia, said Andi Aranitasi, Director for
Uzbekistan at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD), Trend
reports.
Speaking at the launch of the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook
for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Aranitasi highlighted how the
corridor’s transformation reflects the region’s growing importance
in global trade networks.
“If you look along the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor,
container movement has doubled in terms of capacity from 2021 to
2024,” Aranitasi said, describing the surge in demand for
logistics, warehousing, and infrastructure. The increased traffic
is being driven by rerouted trade flows, especially from the
Russian Federation, which have redirected goods through Central
Asian countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Georgia.
“These countries have become critical intermediaries,” he noted,
pointing to the rising volume of goods moving through the region –
from transport equipment and machinery to manufactured
products.
Aranitasi linked this shift to broader geopolitical changes and
the exit of major international brands from Russia. “This has
allowed certain countries on the periphery to ramp up production of
local products that are export-driven,” he said. He cited
Kyrgyzstan as a case in point, where textile exports to Russia
tripled and now make up nearly 45% of the country’s total
exports.
The corridor’s growth has also sparked investment in key
supporting sectors. “There is a need and an upcoming wave of
significant investments in warehousing, logistics, and
transportation,” he said, stressing that the region’s
infrastructure must keep pace with the volume of trade it is now
handling.
However, Aranitasi warned that the recent trade boom may not be
sustainable in the long run. “It doubled in 2023 compared to 2022,
but then it has sort of leveled out,” he explained. While the surge
has given the region a short-term boost, longer-term growth will
require continued diversification and infrastructure
development.