The Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), has become one of Kazakhstan’s most important strategic assets over the past decade.
According to sea-news.az Aset Nusupov, Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Trade and Integration, made the statement in an interview with Trend. “The figures clearly demonstrate this. Between 2022 and 2025, cargo volumes along the route increased more than fivefold. By the end of 2025, total freight traffic had reached 4.5–4.7 million tonnes. Of this, 76,900 TEU accounted for container shipments, representing a 36% increase compared to the previous year,” Nusupov said.He noted that in the first quarter of 2026, 125 container trains operated along the route, up 34.4% from the same period last year. During the same period, 85 trains traveled on the Xi’an–Port of Alat route, doubling the previous year’s figure. Delivery times have also been cut nearly in half, decreasing from 28–32 days to 11–13 days.According to Nusupov, the importance of the corridor for Kazakhstan–Azerbaijan cooperation cannot be overstated. A key western section of the route passes through Azerbaijan, where the Port of Baku at Alat serves as the largest port in the Caspian region. The port currently has an annual handling capacity of 15 million tonnes, with plans to expand it to 25 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is rapidly developing the Aktau and Kuryk ports, aiming to increase the country’s total port handling capacity to 30 million tonnes per year.
Nusupov also emphasized that during Kazakhstan’s 2026 presidency of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev identified logistics as the second of five key integration priorities. “Without any exaggeration, I can say that the Middle Corridor is a joint project of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, and our interests in its development are fully aligned. I would even say that it is a shared legacy that we can proudly pass on to future generations,” he added.
