Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport on the Significance of the Zangezur Corridor for Central Asia

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The opening of the Zangezur Corridor will bring substantial benefits to the countries along its route, according to an analytical report prepared under a project by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport, First News Media reports.

The document notes that one of the pressing solutions to ease the load on the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) railway is the commissioning of the Zangezur Corridor — a 43-kilometer railway section connecting mainland Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

“The corridor shortens the route from Azerbaijan to Türkiye. Under the current BTK route, freight trains travel about 250 km across Georgian territory.

The new route is significantly shorter: once the tracks are completed to the Azerbaijani border village of Agbend, the distance between Azerbaijan and Türkiye will be reduced by 343 km. This will save both time and financial costs, cutting delivery times by roughly one day compared to the route through Georgia,” the report highlights.

At the same time, it stresses that the launch of the Zangezur Corridor will not diminish the importance of the BTK route — both directions will complement each other, strengthening the region’s transit potential.

According to the authors, the corridor will have a positive impact on all countries engaged in the Asia–Europe transport and logistics chain. The new route will simplify Asian countries’ access to European markets by land, expand the region’s logistics capabilities, and increase demand for transit services.

For Central Asian states, the Zangezur initiative is seen as a strategic tool to access the markets of Türkiye, Romania, and Bulgaria via Azerbaijan.

The report also emphasizes that Azerbaijan’s current priority is to launch the full operation of the Zangezur Corridor. The project is expected to benefit the entire region, including Armenia.

In addition to establishing direct railway links between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the corridor will restore a transport connection between Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Iran through the Julfa hub in Nakhchivan, which operated during the Soviet period.

Furthermore, the Kars–Gyumri–Nakhchivan–Meghri–Baku route will open a direct railway link between Türkiye and the regional countries, giving fresh momentum to interregional cooperation, the document underscores.