The commissioning of the Astara terminal will allow to increase transit freight on this route by 10-15% by the end of this year, Azerbaijan Railways CJSC told APA.In order to increase cargo transport along the international transport corridor North-South, Azerbaijan Railways CJSC has rebuilt the terminal in Astara and organized customs control by the Astara Customs Department of the State Customs Committee.
The freight warehouse was modernizedfor safe and reliable operations during terminal restoration. Security was ensured 24/7.54 video cameras were installed, and all organizational concerns were resolved. There are also cargo scales at the terminal.In cooperation with the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the 5.5-hectare terminal contains a customs station, high-speed Internet, and other essential equipment. Here, forwarders receive a new multimodal transportation package.
At the terminal, customs-controlled cargo is reloaded and sent rapidly.A major benefit of the terminal is that cargo owners receive favorable tariffs for the transportation and transshipment of accepted commodities. According to preliminary estimates, the launch of the Astara terminal will increase transit cargo transportation along the North-South route by 10–15 percent by the end of this year.Among the cargoes currently handled, the main share is occupied by timber cargoes, which account for about 40 percent of the total turnover. The second place is occupied by cargoes with grain and grain products, accounting for 35 percent of the total cargo turnover.Multimodal transportation services along the North-South international transport corridor have so far been provided only at the CJSC terminal in Astara, Islamic Republic of Iran. The agreement on the construction of this terminal was signed in 2017, and transshipment works at the terminal have been carried out since 2018. Construction work at the terminal is expected to be completed by the end of this year.It is expected that after the commissioning of the Astara-Rasht railway line on the territory of Iran, transit cargo accepted through both Astara terminals will increase significantly.Astara Terminal, which has been operating in Iran since 2018, handled more than 2.5 million tons of cargo from 2018 through 2023 via Astara Terminal LLC. During this period, the annual volume of cargo handled more than tripled, from 211,789 tons in 2018 to 692,402 tons in 2023. The 2023 figures are 48 percent higher than in 2022. The terminal handled 284,688 tons of cargo in the first four months of 2024, a 14 percent increase over the same period in 2023.
Transit freight traffic on railways from January through April 2024 increased by 14 percent year-on-year to 2.5 million tons. During the same period, the volume of freight traffic along the North-South corridor increased by 29 percent compared to the four months of last year, to 260,000 tons.
