Deputy Economy Minister: Georgia views Middle Corridor as united system that should be competitive, reliable, fast, efficient

“The new research of the World Bank emphasizes the increasing role of the Middle Corridor and its economic potential,” said Tamar Ioseliani, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development.

According to the Deputy Minister, a series of measures and infrastructure projects are expected to increase cargo turnover approximately fourfold and reduce cargo transportation time by about two-thirds by 2040.

“The economic impact expected from the implementation of these measures is significant. According to the study, the region’s GDP will grow by approximately 3.3%, and around 2 million jobs will be created. Georgia is responding to all of this with a coherent and consistent vision for the development of the country’s transport system,” she said.

Tamar Ioseliani added that infrastructure development is the top priority of the country’s economic policy.

“By 2032, we plan to invest approximately USD 7 billion in key transport infrastructure, encompassing the Anaklia deep-sea port, the historic modernization of the railway, and the development of international airports.

We see all this in a big context that implies cooperation with international partners since Georgia views the Middle Corridor as a united system that should be competitive, reliable, fast and efficient,” she said.

The report, titled Integration: World-Class Trade Logistics Along the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, finds that strategic investments in the emerging Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor (TCTC), also known as the Middle Corridor, could more than triple trade volumes along the route, halve travel times, boost GDP by 3.3%, and create 2 million more jobs by 2040. The report further finds that if countries pair infrastructure investments with reforms that improve trade and transport efficiency, corridor volumes could quadruple and travel times could fall by two-thirds by 2040.

According to the report, these gains would come from easing transport bottlenecks, improving supply chain reliability, and widening market access in the nine countries along the corridor – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.