Russia to expand gateway to Azerbaijan twelvefold

The Russian border checkpoint "Tagirkent-Kazmalyar" on the border with Azerbaijan is set for a major reconstruction that will drastically increase its capacity to handle nearly 900,000 vehicles per year. The crossing point will be able to process 22 times more trucks than it does currently.

(EXCLUSIVE)

The reconstruction project for the "Tagirkent-Kazmalyar" multilateral automobile checkpoint involves a radical upgrade of its infrastructure to handle more vehicles crossing the Russian-Azerbaijani border, the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure of the Republic of Dagestan told Vestnik Kavkaza.

The Dagestani ministry clarified that the current capacity of the "Tagirkent-Kazmalyar" checkpoint is only 73,000 vehicles per year (approximately 200 per day). Of this, freight transport accounts for just 18,250 vehicles per year (50 per day), with the remaining 150 vehicles per day being cars and buses.

Given that the overwhelming majority of traffic across the land border between Russia and Azerbaijan currently consists of trucks (the border is temporarily closed for passenger transport), and with both states actively developing the logistics of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a significant increase in the checkpoint's capacity, especially for freight, has become necessary.

Consequently, the upgrade is designed to increase the checkpoint's total capacity twelvefold, to 861,400 vehicles per year (about 2,360 per day). Upon project completion, "Tagirkent-Kazmalyar" will be able to handle 22 times more trucks - 401,400 vehicles per year (1,100 per day).

Capacity for passenger cars will increase 8.6-fold, to 438,000 per year (1,200 per day), and for buses sixfold, to 21,900 per year (60 per day). This will prepare the checkpoint for a potential future reopening of the border to passenger traffic.

The Ministry of Transport of Dagestan specified that while the checkpoint currently has a total of 8 lanes for all vehicle types, after reconstruction, 10 lanes will be dedicated solely to trucks, including 2 special lanes for oversized heavy cargo vehicles. A further 8 lanes will be allocated for passenger cars, and 2 lanes for buses.

Collectively, these upgrades will speed up border crossing times even accounting for forecasted increases in traffic.

The press service of the Dagestani Ministry of Transport added that the contract for the design, survey, construction, and installation work was signed nearly three years ago, on November 22, 2022. Preparatory work began on September 16, 2024. The contractor is currently addressing comments on the design and estimate documentation issued by Russia's Main Department of State Expert Review.

The planned completion date for the reconstruction, under the Russian state program "Development of the Transport System," is November 30, 2027. The project is managed by the Federal State Institution "Rosgranstroy."