ASTANA (TCA) — On November 15, Azerbaijan’s capital Baku hosted the General Meeting of members of Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) International Association, which discussed increasing the volume of cargo transportation along this route and increasing its efficiency, the press office of Kazakhstan’s national railways company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) said.
The meeting was attended by heads of railways companies of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey, as well as heads of Kazakhstan’s Aktau International Sea Trade Port, Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company, Baku International Sea Trade Port, and Georgia’s Batumi Sea Port.
Chairman of the Management Board of the International Association Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and the head of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, Kanat Alpysbaev, congratulated on the recent opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and noted that “the launch of the new line is a significant event and it is necessary to intensify the work on attracting cargoes, increasing the corridor capacity, improving the infrastructure.”
“In the current year, the volume of transportation by TITR is set at 725 thousand tons of cargo. Over 10 months already, it transported more than 1 million tons of cargo. At the end of the year, the expected volume of transported cargo will be at least 1.3 million tons,” Alpysbayev said.
Next year TITR plans to transport not only oil and gas, but also Kazakh grain to the markets of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.
“We are also ready to discuss the transportation of chemical products, ore, Kazakh coal along the Trans-Caspian route, and develop container transportation. In 2018, we plan to transport 3 million tons of cargo via TITR,” Alpysbaev said.
During the General Meeting, the tariff rates along the TITR for 2018 were approved. In addition, the tariff rates for freight transportation were considered and agreed, taking into account the new Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line for 2018.
By decision of the General Meeting, Kuryk port LLP (Kazakhstan) and Lianyungang Port Holdings Group (China) were admitted to the Association as associate members.
