Georgia has secured new financing for a €316.8 million road project on the Middle Corridor as Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey move to accelerate customs processing and digital data exchange along the route.
Georgia and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank signed a loan agreement worth about €158.5 million to improve connectivity on the Trans-Caspian transport corridor. The project is valued at €316.8 million in total, with the World Bank previously approving another €158 million.
New Roads in Georgia
The financing will support road upgrades in Georgia’s Kakheti region. The plan includes a 21.7-kilometer four-lane highway between Badiauri and Chalaubani, a 9.1-kilometer road from Chalaubani to Bakurtsikhe and the reconstruction of 36.6 kilometers between Gurjaani and Telavi.
The project is intended to increase capacity on the Georgian section of the Middle Corridor and make the country’s transport system more resilient. Azerbaijani cargo and Central Asian transit traffic use Georgia to reach Turkey and European markets.
Customs Shift Toward Digital Transit
At the same time, the fifth meeting of the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey trilateral customs committee concluded in Goygol. The three countries signed a protocol covering faster transit, simpler procedures, advance electronic data exchange, joint risk management and easier operations on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.
Azerbaijan is also continuing preparations to join the pan-European New Computerized Transit System, or NCTS. State Customs Committee Chairman Shahin Baghirov said the country has held unofficial observer status since 2017 and is now adapting documents and information-technology infrastructure. He said concrete results were expected soon.
NCTS allows transit procedures to be completed electronically, speeds the processing of advance information and reduces border waiting times. Azerbaijan must make its systems compatible with those of Georgia, Turkey, Moldova and other participants.
The European Investment Bank has also expressed interest in the corridor. Stella Renita, the EIB’s regional representative for the South Caucasus, said the bank was examining possible participation in Azerbaijani Middle Corridor projects. More than 120 Azerbaijani companies have already received EIB financing through local banks, she said.