EBRD to invest up to €1.5 billion in Trans-Caspian Corridor infrastructure over next 2-3 yearsProjects with local rail and logistics companies already under way in KazakhstanPublic-private partnerships and sustainable infrastructure projects being explored in Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz RepublicAt the Second European Union (EU)-Central Asia Economic Forum at the end of May 2023, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) presented a study on sustainable transport connections between Central Asia and Europe. Funded by the European Commission, the study identified country-specific needs and measures to reduce transportation costs, increase operational efficiency and step up private-sector participation. These included digitalising transport documents, enhancing the public-private partnership (PPP) environment, facilitating trade, fostering market liberalisation and improving tariff-setting mechanisms.The study argued that the Trans-Caspian Corridor, which will integrate the countries of Central Asia, could be the best cargo transportation route to complement the Eurasian Northern Corridor running through Russia, which has been affected by geopolitical bottlenecks. It also noted that regional trade within Central Asia will benefit greatly from the upgrading and expansion of this transport corridor.According to the latest estimates, the volume of cargo moving through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) could, by 2040, significantly increase from the current volume of almost 20,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs). With freight steadily increasing along this route, existing Caspian Sea infrastructure might become a bottleneck. The study underlined the need to rehabilitate and modernise rail and road networks, expand rolling stock, improve border crossing points, and build multimodal logistics centres and auxiliary network connections across Central Asia. Full text here: https://www.ebrd.com/news/2024/the-central-asia-link.html (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: EBRD