In the month of April, our firm has been invited to take part in the Black Sea – Caspian Sea event organized by the Constanta Port Business Association.
The event’s center focus was the Middle Corridor, arguably the most efficient route for the transport of merchandise from China and the Far East to Europe, via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania.
For Romania and the other involved countries, the Middle Corridor can be potentially transformative for their economies, especially in the current geo-politic and economic context, where previous routes and patterns are affected by significant shifts.
The event benefited from the involvement of all Middle Corridor countries, and was attended by high-ranking officials and representatives from all involved countries, as well as by key players from supply-chain, transport and logistic business communities.
The initiative of the event came from entrepreneurs from the Caspian area who were looking for partnerships with port operators from Constanta for conducting business and related transports to/from Central and Eastern Europe.
Both the Caspian region and the Black Sea have become areas of particular interest for conducting business mostly due to the recent geopolitical environment – which went through significant changes since the recent conflict in Ukraine. For the same reason, the Port of Constanta is now an important link in the transport chain between the European hinterland and the freight arriving from the Caspian region.
From a statistical standpoint, more than 30% of Kazakhstan’s exports are currently arriving in the EU, while Georgia and Azerbaijan are now able to participate in major traffic flows of freight due to large-scale investments carried out locally over the last decade.
On average, based on the available information, all ports in the Caspian region are technically prepared to deal with an increased traffic of 50% – compared with their current status – which may facilitate trade and business operations via the Middle Corridor. One actual project which was already completed and is operational starting from April 2023 is the RO-RO transport line between the port of Poti (Georgia) and the port of Constanta.
The collaboration between the ports of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea may lead to setting the foundations of an efficient energy infrastructure in the region. The Middle Corridor is of strategic importance in the area as it can contribute to the diversification of energy sources for Europe.
For detailed information on this matter, please visit Constanta Port Business Association’s website at https://portbusiness.ro/forumul-coridorul-marea-caspica-marea-neagra-portul-constanta-ruta-catre-europa/.
Our firm assists an important number of key port operators in Constanta Port and we are thrilled that major Middle Corridor projects are on the rise, encouraging local businesses towards a fast-paced development.
As the go-to law firm for port and naval infrastructure projects & concessions in Romania, we are honored to be involved, alongside our clients, in some of these exciting projects.
For detailed information regarding our port related expertise, please visit our website at https://dha.ro/sectors/.
