I. "Eurasia" transport corridor. This corridor is planned to be built and launched during 2018-
2023, which will connect China and Western Europe.
The highway will pass from Beijing via Astana, Moscow and Minsk to Berlin. According to
some forecasts, by 2050, 20 million tons of cargo and 37 million passengers will be transported
through the highway annually.
II. Western Europe-Western China. The China-Kazakhstan section began operating in 2016,
which will become the shortest route to Europe with a transportation period of 10 to 12 days.
The full-scale launch of the project is not expected until 2030. The corridor will run along the
route St. Petersburg- Moscow-Orenburg-Aktobe-Almaty-Khorgos.
III. Lapis Lazuli. In 2017 the
representatives
of
Afghanistan,
Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and
Turkey signed an agreement on the
creation of the transport corridor "Lapis
Lazuli"." It is supposed that the railway
and automobile routes will connect the
city of Torgundi (Afghanistan) with
Ashgabat, the port of Turkmenbashi on
the Caspian Sea. The corridor will
further pass through the Caspian Sea to Baku, then through Tbilisi to Ankara with branches to
Poti and Batumi, further from Ankara to Istanbul, Kars in Turkey with further access to the
transport system of Europe.
It is expected that the railways and motorways will connect the city of Torgundi in the Afghan
province of Herat with Ashgabat, then with the Caspian port of Turkmenbashi. The corridor will
continue to Baku, then through Tbilisi to Ankara with branches to Poti and Batumi, then from
Ankara to Istanbul. The cost of the project, which is aimed at facilitating transit logistics and
simplifying customs procedures, is estimated at 2 billion dollars.
IV. Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran. In May 2018 a container train travelled along the route
China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran. The total travel time along the railway route was about 2
weeks, which is on average twice as fast as by sea. It is believed that by 2022 the volume of
cargo transportation by rail will be 15 million tons per year.
V. East-West. The project is designed to provide transport links between China and Europe.
The key link in the East-West transport corridor is the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line. This project
will play a key role in establishing regular shipments of goods from Turkey and Europe to the
countries of Central Asia and China, as well as to Iran.
Uzbekistan is interested in participating in this project. According to the decree of the
President of Uzbekistan "On measures to improve the transport infrastructure and diversify
foreign trade routes for carriage of goods for the period from 2018 to 2022," measures are being
taken to implement pilot transit of foreign trade goods via the Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki-Kars
railway line with access to ports.
VI. North-South. According to some information, the
opening of the transport corridor is planned for 2020.
This transport corridor will connect the port of St.
Petersburg with the Iranian ports of Bender-Abbas and
Chakhbahar, across which the sea branch reaches the
Indian port of Mumbai.
The importance for Central Asia is that the
transport corridor will simplify the transport of goods
from Central Asia, passing through Iran to the countries
of the Persian Gulf. The corridor will be able to provide
transit of 3-5 million tons of cargo annually. This
transport corridor is of great importance for Uzbekistan.
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