Uzbekistan moves to turn the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor into an integrated logistics system
For a landlocked economy, transport costs are built into the price of every product. Shorter transit times, fewer delays and higher capacity along individual sections of the route can therefore translate directly into stronger industrial competitiveness. Uzbekistan is seeking to capture that effect by expanding its role in the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, commonly known as the Middle Corridor.
The country is not limiting its strategy to improving domestic connections. It is developing its own logistics capabilities on the Caspian Sea and in the South Caucasus, strengthening rail and road links, cooperating with Azerbaijan and Georgia, and investing in the digitalisation of transport operations. These priorities were discussed at the second National Conference on the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor in Tashkent, attended by representatives of the Uzbek government, the European Union, international financial institutions and the private sector.
From financial promises to bankable projects
The central conclusion of the conference was that the next stage of corridor development requires specific infrastructure projects rather than broad investment declarations. The meeting continued work launched after an investment forum in Brussels in 2024, when 10 billion dollars was announced for the corridor. To date, 2.5 billion dollars has been invested or confirmed for specific projects in Central Asia.
Peteris Ustubs of the European Commission noted that the remaining part of the announced financing still needs to be translated into concrete projects. “Financial opportunities for developing the route remain, and the potential for growth is still considerable,” he said.
The European side intends to identify Uzbekistan’s precise infrastructure needs, determine the main bottlenecks and match them with financing, investment and technical-support mechanisms. The European Union, the Team Europe initiative and international financial institutions are expected to participate in this work.
The priorities include the construction and modernisation of railways, highway development, logistics centres, digital transport systems and more efficient border crossings. The approach reflects a basic reality of international logistics: corridor performance depends on the entire journey from shipper to consignee, not on the quality of one isolated section.
Uzbekistan builds a presence along the route
Uzbekistan increasingly views the Middle Corridor not simply as an external route to be joined, but as a system in which it must establish its own infrastructure. One of the key projects is a Uzbek terminal at the port of Anaklia in Georgia. The facility is intended to strengthen Uzbekistan’s control over the logistics chain after the crossing of the Caspian Sea and provide exports with an additional infrastructure base.
The country is also discussing the creation of a joint venture with partners in Azerbaijan. Another priority is the acquisition of additional ferries and an increase in the number of Caspian crossings. Maritime capacity currently depends not only on port infrastructure, but also on the number of vessels available to serve the route.
Businesses have also been offered a practical incentive: rail freight rates on the multimodal CASCA+ route can be reduced by 70 percent. The discount could help cargo owners lower logistics costs while the broader corridor network is being modernised.
Ports and borders remain the critical test
Infrastructure alone will not make the corridor competitive. Faster border procedures, coordinated operators and predictable conditions for carriers are equally important. The Trans-Caspian Corridor Coordination Platform aims to reduce delivery times between Europe and Asia to no more than 15 days, which will require every participant in the chain to work to a common timetable.
A shipment that crosses a border in a few hours but waits several days at a port has not reached its destination any faster. Transit performance must therefore be measured as a combined indicator covering road, rail, maritime, port and customs operations. According to the European side, the effectiveness of the entire chain could become the corridor’s main constraint as traffic grows.
A World Bank survey of 60 Uzbek companies underlines the scale of the challenge. Forty-five percent of respondents reported lengthy port dwell times, 41 percent pointed to insufficient port and ferry capacity, and 37 percent cited queues and delays at border crossings. In 2025, container capacity utilisation reached 93 percent at Aktau and 98 percent at Poti, while Turkmenbashi operated at only 25–30 percent. The figures suggest that the route needs both targeted capacity expansion and a more balanced distribution of cargo flows.
Customs administration offers another significant reserve. Transit declarations can already be submitted electronically in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, but paper transport documents are still required in many cases. The digital platforms used by corridor countries are not fully interconnected, forcing carriers to repeat procedures at successive borders.
A sizeable investment pipeline
The World Bank report “Integration: World-Class Trade Logistics Along the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor”, published on September 28, examines the route across nine countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Armenia is not currently part of the corridor’s main route, but the report anticipates direct transport links emerging during the 2030s.
According to the report, corridor development could generate an additional 3.3 percent in gross domestic product across the participating economies by supporting trade diversification, private investment and job creation. For Uzbekistan, infrastructure investment could deliver a long-term additional GDP increase of 0.7 percent, equivalent to 749 million dollars, while employment could rise by 0.4 percent.
The most visible direct effect in Uzbekistan is expected in construction, where output could increase by 15.7 percent. The country’s exports are projected to rise by 0.97 percent, or 253 million dollars, while imports could grow by 6.02 percent, or approximately 2.56 billion dollars. The projected imbalance reflects higher industrial and investment activity and the resulting demand for imported equipment, materials and other resources.
By 2040, more than 25 billion dollars will be needed to remove the corridor’s main infrastructure constraints. The World Bank also identifies approximately 30.5 billion dollars in investment opportunities for connecting the corridor with national networks, developing logistics centres and inland terminals, renewing rolling stock and handling equipment, and upgrading digital systems.
Uzbekistan accounts for the largest project pipeline, valued at 11.5 billion dollars. It includes toll roads linking Tashkent with Andijan, Tashkent with Samarkand, and Samarkand with Bukhara, valued at 5.3 billion, 1.4 billion and 1 billion dollars respectively. A further 1 billion dollars is allocated in the assessment to railway rolling-stock modernisation, with another 1 billion dollars earmarked for expanding network capacity. Dry ports and the modernisation of railway border crossings are also included.
The 11.5 billion dollar figure represents an investment opportunity rather than a financing commitment from the World Bank. For Uzbekistan, the portfolio can serve as a basis for attracting capital, but individual projects will still require prioritisation, high-quality preparation and suitable financing structures.
For international furniture manufacturers, construction companies, interior and exterior suppliers, architects, designers and trading groups, the corridor’s development could lower the cost and improve the predictability of access to Uzbekistan and neighbouring markets. The commercial opportunity will depend less on the number of new facilities announced than on whether railways, ports, ferries, roads, customs systems and digital documentation begin operating as one coordinated logistics chain.
