Marat Khusnullin: Cargo traffic along the international transport corridor "North – South" may grow to 35 million tons by 2030
Marat Khusnullin: Cargo traffic along the international transport corridor "North – South" may grow to 35 million tons by 2030
18 May
Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin took part in a round table on the development of the international transport corridor "North – South" within the framework of the XIV International Economic Forum "Russia – the Islamic World: KazanForum". The Deputy Prime Minister noted that this route has acquired special importance in the current geopolitical situation, when the country is rebuilding logistics chains and flows.
"The development of transit routes in the directions of the Caspian region, South and Southeast Asia, and the Persian Gulf countries is a priority for the Russian Federation. We are constantly working to increase trade turnover between friendly countries and, of course, we are interested in the development of the North–South corridor. We believe that by 2025, cargo turnover in this direction should double – to at least 30 million tons, and by 2030 – to 35 million tons. This is 155% more compared to 2021," Marat Khusnullin said.
The North–South corridor includes three main routes: the Western one – through the Republic of Dagestan by road and rail, the Trans–Caspian one – through the Caspian Sea by sea and river transport along the Volga to Iranian and Turkmen ports, and the Eastern one - through the Republics of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan by road and rail.
The Deputy Prime Minister explained that in order to develop an international transport route in Russia, it is planned to build automobile bypasses of Astrakhan, Derbent, Khasavyurt. In addition, the R-217 Kavkaz highway is being overhauled and the ports of the Caspian basin in the Astrakhan Region and the Republic of Dagestan are being developed. To increase the capacity of the Russian border, the Derbent railway checkpoint is being built and the Upper Lars and Yarag-Kazmalyar checkpoints are being reconstructed. The total volume of investments in the development of the North–South transport artery from 2022 to 2030 will amount to about 280 billion rubles, Marat Khusnullin added.
According to him, the Government is also actively developing the international transport corridor "West – East" with access to Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. The M-12 Moscow– Nizhny Novgorod– Kazan highway is being built with an extension to Yekaterinburg, Tyumen and further to Vladivostok.
"I consider it extremely important to synchronize our actions with foreign colleagues. Together with the republics of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, India, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, infrastructure development plans should be formed so that there are no bottlenecks on the route and the economy of infrastructure projects works rhythmically," the Deputy Prime Minister stressed.
He recalled that the day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi took part in the signing ceremony of an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation on the creation of a railway between the Iranian cities of Rasht and Astara for the development of transportation along the North–South transport corridor via video link. "The implementation of this project will give a serious breakthrough and will allow transporting up to 15 million tons of cargo from Russia to the Persian Gulf countries," said Marat Khusnullin.
The Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov in his speech called the international transport corridor "North – South" a key element of the transport framework of Eurasia. "The corridor is of particular importance for the Eurasian Economic Union as an important alternative corridor for economic development and as a response to the economic and political influence of the European Union. During our foreign trips and meetings, the topic of transport corridors and logistics is always discussed. Last year we visited Iran and saw how much the Iranian side is interested in the development of this direction. The same can be said about Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. Therefore, these issues are the most important," Rustam Minnikhanov said.
Assistant to the President of Russia Igor Levitin thanked the organizers and participants of the round table for a fruitful discussion. "Together we must create new conditions for the transportation of goods. The North–South transport corridor, unlike other world routes, is multimodal, all types of transport participate here," Igor Levitin noted. The Presidential Aide explained that it is necessary to create such conditions so that the cargo is delivered to its destination without stopping at the borders. He added that the technologies for this exist today.
The round table was also attended by Mammethan Chakiyev, Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Turkmenistan, Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the UAE, Alireza Peymanpak, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Said bin Hamoud Al-Mawali, Minister of Transport and Communications of the Sultanate of Oman.
"The development of transit routes in the directions of the Caspian region, South and Southeast Asia, and the Persian Gulf countries is a priority for the Russian Federation. We are constantly working to increase trade turnover between friendly countries and, of course, we are interested in the development of the North–South corridor. We believe that by 2025, cargo turnover in this direction should double – to at least 30 million tons, and by 2030 – to 35 million tons. This is 155% more compared to 2021," Marat Khusnullin said.
The North–South corridor includes three main routes: the Western one – through the Republic of Dagestan by road and rail, the Trans–Caspian one – through the Caspian Sea by sea and river transport along the Volga to Iranian and Turkmen ports, and the Eastern one - through the Republics of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan by road and rail.
The Deputy Prime Minister explained that in order to develop an international transport route in Russia, it is planned to build automobile bypasses of Astrakhan, Derbent, Khasavyurt. In addition, the R-217 Kavkaz highway is being overhauled and the ports of the Caspian basin in the Astrakhan Region and the Republic of Dagestan are being developed. To increase the capacity of the Russian border, the Derbent railway checkpoint is being built and the Upper Lars and Yarag-Kazmalyar checkpoints are being reconstructed. The total volume of investments in the development of the North–South transport artery from 2022 to 2030 will amount to about 280 billion rubles, Marat Khusnullin added.
According to him, the Government is also actively developing the international transport corridor "West – East" with access to Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China. The M-12 Moscow– Nizhny Novgorod– Kazan highway is being built with an extension to Yekaterinburg, Tyumen and further to Vladivostok.
"I consider it extremely important to synchronize our actions with foreign colleagues. Together with the republics of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, India, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, infrastructure development plans should be formed so that there are no bottlenecks on the route and the economy of infrastructure projects works rhythmically," the Deputy Prime Minister stressed.
He recalled that the day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi took part in the signing ceremony of an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation on the creation of a railway between the Iranian cities of Rasht and Astara for the development of transportation along the North–South transport corridor via video link. "The implementation of this project will give a serious breakthrough and will allow transporting up to 15 million tons of cargo from Russia to the Persian Gulf countries," said Marat Khusnullin.
The Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov in his speech called the international transport corridor "North – South" a key element of the transport framework of Eurasia. "The corridor is of particular importance for the Eurasian Economic Union as an important alternative corridor for economic development and as a response to the economic and political influence of the European Union. During our foreign trips and meetings, the topic of transport corridors and logistics is always discussed. Last year we visited Iran and saw how much the Iranian side is interested in the development of this direction. The same can be said about Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan. Therefore, these issues are the most important," Rustam Minnikhanov said.
Assistant to the President of Russia Igor Levitin thanked the organizers and participants of the round table for a fruitful discussion. "Together we must create new conditions for the transportation of goods. The North–South transport corridor, unlike other world routes, is multimodal, all types of transport participate here," Igor Levitin noted. The Presidential Aide explained that it is necessary to create such conditions so that the cargo is delivered to its destination without stopping at the borders. He added that the technologies for this exist today.
The round table was also attended by Mammethan Chakiyev, Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Turkmenistan, Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the UAE, Alireza Peymanpak, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Said bin Hamoud Al-Mawali, Minister of Transport and Communications of the Sultanate of Oman.
