The Middle Corridor grew 5x, then dipped in 2025: investment, upgrades and what it means for Asia → Ukraine delivery

The Trans-Caspian route (TITR, the “Middle Corridor”) from Asia to Europe and Ukraine bypassing Russia has grown roughly five-fold in five years, with 2025 slipping back — and that is before the upgrades are even finished. We break down the figures, the investment by country and what it means for importers.

Growth in numbers

Traffic on the corridor is rising fast (per the TITR association):

That is roughly a five-fold rise on 2021 — but 2024 was the peak: the 2025 figure came in below the previous year (4.12 M t against 4.48), the corridor’s first annual decline.

The ministry that published the figures in March 2026 did not set out the causes, and mid-2025 reporting had still been positive — forecasts on this corridor have repeatedly run ahead of the outturn. The documented physical constraint is the Caspian, where falling water levels have cut ferry capacity. Capacity built at both ends does not move cargo until the crossing in the middle can carry it. Container traffic grew 2.6-fold, and the corridor’s stated capacity has reached about 6M tonnes and 100,000 TEU a year.

Investment across the whole chain

Money is going in simultaneously in every country along the route:

Kazakhstan

Modernisation of the Port of Aktau — a €35M EBRD loan plus up to €10M in EU grants to expand container capacity. Container traffic on this leg has already risen sharply.

Azerbaijan and Georgia

Expansion of the Port of Alat and the Caspian fleet, the deepwater Port of Anaklia, a new terminal in Poti, the Tbilisi dry port, and a single agreed tariff between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan — the route is becoming one product rather than a set of hand-offs.

Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan

In December 2024, construction began on the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway (486 km, about $4.7 billion, roughly 5 years) — it will shorten the path from China and add a southern branch to the corridor.

Turkmenistan

Officially became a transit link via the Port of Turkmenbashi, adding flexibility.

What changed in the business

For many companies the choice of route is now driven by insurance, banking compliance and ESG reporting. Predictability and “bankability” have become more important than nominal transit time. The Middle Corridor grew not because it is perfect, but because it became scalable, investable and plannable — and for the first time every country is investing in it at once.

Georgia’s role

Georgia is the key link between the Caspian and the Black Sea: the ports of Poti, Batumi and Anaklia, and the Tbilisi hub. ABU JORJIA works right here, with its own infrastructure in the Georgian ports — so the Asia → Georgia → Ukraine route is not theory for us but daily work.

What it means for an importer in Ukraine

A resilient alternative to shipping around Russia, growing infrastructure and unified tariffs make the route more reliable and predictable. How the corridor works step by step is in Middle Corridor: how cargo travels from Asia bypassing Russia; we handle the delivery itself.

Summary

The Middle Corridor is turning from a “detour” into a route in its own right — invested in and planned. We arrange Asia → Georgia → Ukraine delivery along it — send a request and we will match a scheme to your cargo.

See also: Why the container does not go to Central Asia · Insurance, sanctions and ESG · Kuryk port · Who and what ships via Georgia · Georgia as a transit country · Tbilisi Dry Port · Eurasian corridors · BTK railway · Port of Anaklia · Port of Batumi · Port of Poti · Caspian crossing · Middle Corridor — explained · Rail freight · Sea freight · Top container lines · Container types