Lifting standards of connectivity through the Middle Corridor

Efforts to promote the Middle Corridor route by APM Terminals Poti, Georgia are paying off. The team say “significant improvements” have been made in identifying bottlenecks on the strategically important route to create solutions for customers. The progress made over the past 18 months includes rocketing efficiency measures at APM Terminals Poti which created increased container rail transit and reduced transit times. 

The progress is confirmed by @Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) organisation figures showing cargo traffic increased by 63%, reaching 4.1 million tons along the route during 11 months of 2024. The TITR said container traffic increased 2.6 times to 50.5 thousand TEU.

The Middle Corridor route starts from Southeast Asia and China and runs through Kazakhstan, the Caspian sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia to reach European destinations. As confirmed by TITR, its importance continues to grow, with impressive growth of 6 million tons per year, including 100 thousand TEU of containers.

Proactive measures

Activations by the Poti team over past months include participation in a Dutch Trade Mission to Kazakhstan. The event was “a valuable opportunity to identify synergies among the trade mission participants,” said Iain Rawlinson, Chief Commercial Officer of APM Terminals Poti. However, he said the most significant takeaway “was the chance to engage with both state-owned and private companies in Kazakhstan. Additionally, we were able to raise awareness of the APM Terminals brand in the region and highlight the importance of our gateway in Poti to this area.”

In establishing a resilient transport route between Central Asia and Europe, focusing on port development and logistics capabilities, Poti is in an optimal position to connect Far East and Central Asia pathways to and from Europe.

Collaborative moves

One significant development took shape in the recent signing of a term sheet to collaborate with one of the largest Inland Container Depots (ICDs) in Almaty, the largest import market in Kazakhstan. The collaboration will eliminate waste, resulting in cost savings and better planning for retailers and distributors in this market.

Also in Kazakhstan, APM Terminals Poti's Managing Director, Christian Roeder, travelled to Astana to meet with several state companies and government representatives including the Ministry of Transport, Kazakhstan Railways, Aktau Sea Commercial Port and the TITR. At the meetings, APM Terminals Poti reaffirmed the intention to invest in expanding the Poti port into a deep seaport - currently pending government approval.

Exhibiting promise

While in Astana, the APM Terminals Poti team participated for the first time in the Translogistica Exhibition, one of the biggest transport and logistics events in Kazakhstan. The event provided an opportunity to share our expansion plans to create a deep seaport enabled to operate the biggest vessels that sail the Black Sea. 

Said Roeder, who took up the position of MD in June of last year, "our expansion plans align to those of the ports in the Caspian Sea. The synergies are huge, and we are ready to execute such plans immediately as the market urgently demands the additional capacity and improved reliability in transit time and cost that we can bring". 

He added that, stepping into 2025, APM Terminals Poti will continue to work closely with stakeholders in Central Asia and take every effort to turn Poti into one of the main logistics hubs serving the markets in the Caucasus and Central Asia.