The ideas of a Transcaspian traffic bridge and a Eurasian Corridor have become topical in the sphere of national construction in Georgia after its independence. The idea comes from works by the classic Georgian writer Chuba Amiredejiba – in a crucial scene of the novel ‘Data Tutashkhia’, one of its characters considers the historical and geographical function of Georgia, which could be an important pillar of its statehood. The second president of the country, Eduard Shevardnadze, stressed many times that a project of transportation of various cargos, including energy resources, was necessary from Azerbaijan, the Central Asian countries and China through a new Silk Road.
Today the project is becoming multidimensional. Along with construction and exploitation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Supsa and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipelines, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, there are new wide-scale projects with the participation of China, with its unlimited capabilities, huge potential and demand for diversification of new communication lines, including directions to the Black Sea and Europe.
Gogita Gvenetadze, the Deputy Head of the Transport Department of the Ministry for Economic Development of Georgia, told Vestnik Kavkaza about plans for developing the Transcaspian corridor: “In February 2015 the first test cargo-carrying journey took place from China through Azerbaijan to Georgia within the joint project of WELL (Worldwide Energy Logistics Ltd.) and Kedentranservice. Cargo was loaded on a train in China on January 29th; it was unloaded in Georgia on February 6th. Experts of China, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan attentively monitored the transportation of the containers. They found out that the route through the Caspian Sea reduced the period of transportation five-fold: from 45 to 9 days! Tbilisi expects that the flow of cargo from China through the Transcaspian corridor will grow quickly, due to construction of a deep-water port in Anaklia on the Black Sea cost of Georgia. Today the capacities of the Georgian ports (Poti and Batumi) are restricted, as they cannot admit heavy-tonnage vessels of the Panamax type. The shallow water ports in Poti and Batumi increase transit prices. Not accidently, Chinese companies show the biggest interest in the construction of Anaklia Port with a potential capacity of 100 million tons annually. The winner of the contest will be announced in a month.”
At the same time, the Ministry of Transport of Georgia rejects discussions about competition between Anaklia Port and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. On the contrary, they will complement each other and encourage a growth of trade turnover. This fact is confirmed by Azerbaijan, the owner of the BTK railway, which doesn’t express any concerns about competition and is ready to participate in both projects.
At the same time, modernization of the central transit railway from Tbilisi to Poti and Batumi is continuing. It is aimed at increasing the output capacity and speed of trains.
Another important aspect is construction of the East-West highway, which will enable cargo to be carried to the Black Sea coast of Georgia and on to Turkey, and then to Europe by vehicles. Special attention is paid to traffic safety. Construction began in 2006, and it is planned to be finished in 2020. It also includes construction of the high-speed autobahn Tbilisi-Poti-Batumi-Turkish border. Considering the fact that automobile communication is actively developing in the east of Turkey at the moment, the project may become part of a united road network connecting China and the Caspian Region with Europe. The Ministry for Economic Development of Georgia told Vestnik Kavkaza that most probably the autobahn will be free of charge.
Of course such a wide-scale project demanded a juridical form and consent between all interested countries. On November 7th 2013 the Agreement on Establishing the Coordinating Committee for Development of the Transcaspian Traffic Route was signed by the heads of AO Georgian Railway, AO Azerbaijani Railway, AO Kazakhstan Railway, Turkish Railway, the Caspian Navigation, and the ports of Baku, Poti and Batumi.
On May 5th a session of the Coordinating Committee took place in Baku. The sides easily agreed on rates for railway container transportation and a schedule of traffic. The Georgian authorities believe that simplification of customs procedures will encourage successful providing of all transport projects.
All the measures have already produced results: in 2014 the ports processed 446,972 twenty-foot equivalent units, i.e. by 11% more than in 2013, when only 403,447 twenty-foot equivalent units were processed.
