Is the middle corridor sustainable?
Because of security risks, sanctions and payment problems caused by geopolitical events, many suppliers and manufacturers prefer not to send their goods from China to Europe via Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus to the route’s main transhipment terminal in Malaszewicze (Poland). Uncertainties remain.
“Asstra proposes sea transport as an alternative to road transport,” commented Botond Kovacs-Mate, regional manager of Asstra’s Hungary branch.
The company has evaluated alternative routes, such as a Trans-Caspian route (China–Kazakhstan–Azerbaijan–Georgia–Turkey) or China–Kazakhstan–Azerbaijan–Georgia–Romania via the Black Sea. However, these aren’t real alternatives to deliveries through Russia, Kovac-Mate added.
“Using alternative routes requires a lot of transhipment, for example at the Sino-Kazakh border and in Baku (Azerbaijan), for ferries crossing the Caspian Sea from Aktau (Kazakhstan). Moreover, there are already difficulties with the availability of ferries. This route will certainly be in demand, but it’s already known that it won’t be able to serve more than 5-6% of the current volume of goods transported to Malaszewicze in the next ten years, unless there’s significant investment in infrastructure,” commented Vladislav Martin, head of Asstra's China-EU rail transport department. (sh)