Middle Corridor trade surges as Central Asia strengthens transport links
Trade along the Middle Corridor is accelerating, opening new opportunities for Central Asia and the South Caucasus as countries strengthen transpor...
Uzbekistan plans to open a logistics centre at Georgia’s port of Poti by 2027, with capacity to handle up to 500,000 tonnes of cargo a year, as Tashkent strengthens transport links through the South Caucasus.
Presidential press secretary Sherzod Asadov announced the plan during Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s meeting with local entrepreneurs.
Asadov said practical work involving Georgia’s Anaklia deep-sea port is also expected to begin around the same time.
The announcement follows months of growing transport cooperation between Uzbekistan and Georgia.
Over the summer, Uzbek ministers toured both Poti and the Anaklia construction site alongside Georgian officials. Mirziyoyev’s state visit to Tbilisi in July also saw the two countries upgrade their relations to a strategic partnership, with transport connectivity identified as a shared priority.
Uzbekistan has also proposed linking the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway with the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars line, potentially creating a more direct route for Central Asian cargo to reach Georgia’s Black Sea coast.
The Poti project provides concrete targets, with both a planned opening date and annual cargo capacity now outlined. Anaklia, however, remains at an earlier stage of development.
Georgia settled on a construction model for the deep-sea port in July, moving to a state-led “landlord model” after a Chinese-Singaporean consortium withdrew.
Tenders for terminals under the new model have yet to open, while the port is not expected to receive its first ship until 2029.
Uzbekistan has now publicly signalled its interest in Anaklia and attached a timeframe to its plans.
Whether that interest leads to a terminal lease once tenders open will provide a clearer indication of how far the cooperation could develop. It could also offer an early measure of the substance behind Central Asia’s growing interest in Georgia’s role in the Middle Corridor.
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