Alternate route: China invests in Europe cargo corridor that avoids Russia, Middle East
Middle Corridor through Kazakhstan and across Caspian Sea would have transit time of 15 to 18 days, compared with 45 to 60 for ocean routes
State-owned Chinese firms have already invested hundreds of millions of US dollars to build the 4,750km (2,950 mile) Middle Corridor, which runs through Kazakhstan across the inland Caspian Sea by ship to Azerbaijan, onwards to Georgia and into Turkey.
China gave grant support of about US$70 million and equipment worth around US$2 million for the Caspian Sea Port of Baku, and Chinese firms took part in a US$300 million new seaport in Aktau, Kazakhstan, on the other side of the sea, according to the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia intergovernmental programme in Georgia.
The corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, includes roads and railways as well as the two seaports. It would allow a shipment from China to reach Europe in 15 to 18 days, compared with 45 to 60 by ocean routes, a Turkish diplomatic source told the South China Morning Post.
China is the European Union’s top source of imported goods.
The corridor was still “low capacity” with a higher cost per unit of freight than maritime routes, said Alexander Cooley, a political-science professor at Barnard College in New York. The Caspian crossing, ports and railway gauge transfers still needed work, he said.