ASTANA – The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), widely known as the Middle Corridor, has evolved from a regional transport initiative into a strategic Eurasian trade route. Its long-term success, however, will depend on whether Kazakhstan and its partners can turn infrastructure investment and political momentum into a reliable, commercially viable and integrated logistics network.
The TITR is a multimodal route connecting China and Central Asia with the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus, Türkiye and European markets. Cargo traveling west from China crosses Kazakhstan by rail, reaches the Caspian ports of Aktau or Kuryk, continues by sea to Azerbaijan and then moves through Georgia and Türkiye.
The route began taking shape in 2013-2014, when Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia established a coordination mechanism to develop it. The TITR International Association was established in 2017 to strengthen competitiveness, develop infrastructure, reduce administrative barriers and coordinate transport processes and tariffs.
Renewed demand for alternative Eurasian supply chains, combined with investment in railway and port infrastructure, has accelerated the corridor’s development. “The Middle Corridor is really maturing politically faster than it is maturing operationally,” said Assylbek Nurgabdeshov, assistant professor of strategy and director of Strategy Postgraduate Programs at Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, during a Sept.
15 webinar on the corridor. The question is now whether the route can become reliable enough for companies to build long-term supply chains around it. Cargo volumes demonstrate growing demand. According to Kazakhstan’s official data, freight volumes along the TITR reached 2.76 million tons in 2023, up 65% from 1.7 million tons in 2022.
In 2024, the volume increased to 4.5 million tons, up 62% year on year, while container traffic grew 2.7 times to 56,500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). In 2025, freight volumes stood at 4.1 million tons, down 8.9% from 2024, while container traffic increased 36% to 77,000 TEU.
The figures show that while total freight volume declined slightly in 2025, container traffic continued to grow, suggesting a shift in the composition of cargo moving along the route. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport puts the corridor’s capacity at around six million tons and up to 182,000 containers annually.
Kazakhstan expands the physical backbone Kazakhstan occupies a central position because cargo traveling between China and the Caspian Sea must cross its territory. The country is therefore investing across the transport chain. At Kuryk, berth modernization is under way, alongside the Sarzha grain terminal being developed with Abu Dhabi Ports and the Ersai container terminal.
At Aktau, the container hub developed with China’s Lianyungang Port is complete.