Tbilisi Dry Port: a key inland hub of the Middle Corridor
In 2025 Georgia opened the Tbilisi Dry Port — a rail-linked inland container terminal near the capital, 60% owned by the UAE's AD Ports Group alongside Georgia's Inveco and Norway's Wilhelmsen. A dry port is an inland terminal that handles containers, customs and rail-road transfer away from the seaport. Here are its development stages, today's status, prospects and why it matters as an Asia–Europe node.
Development stages
- Foundation: launched as a joint venture (Georgia's Inveco and Norway's Wilhelmsen).
- 2024 — strategic investor: the UAE's AD Ports Group acquired a 60% majority stake, bringing capital and a global port network.
- May 2025 — soft launch: the terminal received its first 30-container shipment.
- 3 June 2025 — official inauguration. The hub is built in three phases across ~283,000 m².
Current status
| Phase | What it includes | Capacity / investment |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 (done, 2025) | Yard 50,000 m², Class B warehouse 2,500 m², three 600 m rail spurs | up to 96,000 TEU/yr · $21M |
| Phase 2 (early 2026) | 4th rail spur, Class A warehouse 9,800 m² | over 200,000 TEU/yr · up to $55M |
| Phase 3 (planned) | Warehouse space up to 100,000 m² | up to 286,000 TEU/yr |
Phase 1 is operational: a 50,000 m² container yard, a Class B warehouse, three 600 m rail spurs and a capacity of up to 96,000 TEU per year, on a $21M investment. Equipment includes three reach stackers, two shunting locomotives, forklifts and customs-licensed weighing scales.
Location: 7 km from Tbilisi International Airport, 70 km from the Armenian and Azerbaijani borders, connected to Georgia's rail network and international highways, and serving the Black Sea ports of Batumi and Poti. Function: inland customs clearance, container storage and consolidation, and rail↔road transfer.
Development prospects
Phase 2 (targeted for early 2026, up to $55M) adds a fourth rail spur and a 9,800 m² Class A warehouse, more than doubling capacity to over 200,000 TEU/year. Phase 3 takes the terminal to up to 286,000 TEU/year with warehouse space up to 100,000 m². The backdrop: the Middle Corridor is projected to handle up to 1.9 million TEU a year by 2040 — inland capacity like this is exactly what the route needs.
Why it matters as an Asia–Europe node
The dry port sits on the ~7,000 km Trans-Caspian route (a 10–15 day China–Europe journey), connecting the Caspian and Black seas through Georgia. It moves customs and consolidation inland — relieving the seaports — and creates a rail-road multimodal point next to the capital, the airport and the Armenian/Azerbaijani borders. Its UAE ownership (AD Ports) also links Georgia to the Gulf network, adding synergy with re-export through the UAE.
What it means for your cargo
ABU JORJIA routes shipments via the Middle Corridor and Georgia; an inland hub like the Tbilisi Dry Port adds consolidation, customs and rail-road transfer close to the region's crossroads. See Georgia as a logistics hub and the BTK railway.
Summary
The Tbilisi Dry Port turns Georgia's capital into an inland gateway of the Middle Corridor: opened in 2025 at up to 96,000 TEU, scaling past 200,000 by 2026 and toward 286,000. For Asia–Europe cargo via Georgia it is a node worth knowing. ABU JORJIA arranges the route end to end — send a request.
Ship via the Middle Corridor