The Middle Corridor is too expensive as a competitive alternative to other transport corridors that connect Europe and China. In an effort to boost the route’s attractiveness, involved countries are now discussing a fifty per cent discount on tariffs along the route.

Five countries that are part of the Middle Corridor are currently taking part in discussions on a possible 50 per cent discount on tariffs along the route. At the International Transport Forum in Leipzig, the Uzbek minister of transport told Azerbaijani news agency Trend that such discussions are ongoing.

“In a five-party format, the railway administrations of the countries through which this route passes have agreed on tariff preferences. I believe this will help increase the volume of cargo transportation along the corridor”, the minister said.

“The tariffs on the Middle Corridor are currently not very competitive compared to the Northern and Southern routes. Nonetheless, when contrasted with other circuits, the agreed-upon discount makes rail freight transportation more competitive”, he added.

Geopolitics

According to the minister, the Middle Corridor holds a lot of potential in a changing geopolitical landscape. The Middle Corridor is a direct competitor of the dominant Northern Route, which primarily runs through Russia and remains much cheaper and less complex than its Central Asian counterpart. As such, the Middle Corridor even attracted a 10 billion euro investment from the EU.

The Middle Corridor is expensive and complex. It runs through many countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus and requires overseas transportation across the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, which is currently unavailable due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Nevertheless, the Uzbek minister remained positive: “Of course, infrastructure challenges remain. We must extend traffic-clogged corridors. Our colleagues in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are actively resolving these challenges. We’re confident the Middle Corridor will become a major transit corridor.”

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