Passenger cars from Europe already being transported to Central Asia through Azerbaijan

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In 2022, 6,314,000 tons of cargo were handled at the Port of Baku, which is 13.6% more than the previous year, Khudayar Hasanli, Head of Strategic Planning and Development Department of Baku International Sea Trade Port CJSC, told Report.

He noted that in 2021, 5.5 million tons of cargo were handled at the Port: “In 2022, the number of passenger cars and other vehicles handled at the Port of Baku increased to over 12,000 after the Russia-Ukraine conflict. These passenger cars are mainly transported from Europe to Central Asia. Before the conflict, the number of passenger cars transported in this direction was 3,000-4,000. Passenger cars from Europe are transported to Central Asia not through Russia, but through Azerbaijan.”

Hasanli emphasized that since 2015, the number of wheeled vehicles handled at Port of Baku has not exceeded 42,000: “Despite the fact that several directions and all roads were closed in the world due to quarantine measures during the pandemic, we handled 42,000 wheeled vehicles. The number of wheeled vehicles handled at the port increased by 30.6% to 51,535 in 2022 from 39,431 in 2021.”

He added that the Port of Baku is aimed to handle over 7 million tons this year: “In 2022, our target was 6 million tons, but we overfulfilled the plan. Now, we plan to exceed our target for 2023.”