BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 19. Georgia's Poti Terminal will foster the Middle Corridor development, Business Development Manager at APM Terminals Poti Mario Escobar said during the session, "Seaports and terminals. Infrastructure development in the Black and Caspian Sea region" at the Black and Caspian Freight Forum 2024 in Baku, TurkicWorld reports.
Escobar provided information about the Poti port expansion project.
"The first phase of the project, which is already underway, involves the development of 15 hectares out of the planned 100. Construction work will begin in 2025, with the project's completion scheduled for 2027. Key elements of the first phase include the construction of a northern breakwater, 1.5 kilometers in length, and the building of a container terminal. The total quay length will be 330 meters, allowing the servicing of large-capacity vessels.
Two STS Post-Panamax cranes will be installed for container handling, ensuring a throughput of 400,000 TEU. The project also envisions the ability to accommodate vessels up to 300 meters long with a draft of up to 13.5 meters. As for the Middle Corridor, we'll support this route and do everything possible to ensure its successful operation. Overall, efforts must be made to turn the Port of Poti into a logistics hub," he explained.
To note, the Middle Corridor links container rail freight transportation networks of China and the European Union countries through Central Asia, the Caucasus, Türkiye, and Eastern Europe.
Multilateral multimodal transportation infrastructure connects ferry terminals of the Caspian and Black Seas with railway systems of China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and Poland.
The Middle Corridor facilitates increased cargo traffic from China to Türkiye, as well as to Europe and vice versa.
The route train running along this corridor delivers cargo from China to Europe in an average of 20–25 days, and this is one of the main advantages of this transport corridor.
