29 April 2026, the European Shippers’ Council contributed to the high-level roundtable, “Middle Corridor: From Strategic Coordination to Bankable Implementation,” held in Brussels and organised by Kazakhstan–EU Gateway in collaboration with FERRMED and European Institute for Asian Studies.
The Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, is rapidly emerging as a strategic alternative for transporting goods between China and Europe. Once considered a secondary option, it is gaining importance as cargo owners seek more resilient and diversified supply chains in response to geopolitical tensions, congestion, and disruptions such as the 2021 Suez Canal blockage. By bypassing Russia and connecting China to Europe via Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus, and Türkiye, the corridor offers a politically viable and flexible route.
One of its key advantages is transit time, typically 15–25 days, positioning it between slower maritime shipping and more expensive air freight. Growing infrastructure investments—particularly in ports such as Aktau and Baku, as well as improved rail links—are strengthening its viability, while increasing volumes are enhancing reliability and market confidence.
However, in his speech, ESC Secretary General Godfried Smit also highlighted the significant challenges the corridor still faces. Its multimodal nature introduces complexity and potential delays, especially at transfer points such as the Caspian Sea crossing, which remains a bottleneck due to limited capacity and operational inefficiencies. In addition, fragmented customs procedures across multiple countries reduce predictability, and costs remain relatively high compared to traditional routes. Digital integration and real-time visibility also lag behind more established logistics corridors.
For the Middle Corridor to become a mainstream trade route, cargo owners are calling for greater reliability, streamlined border processes, expanded Caspian capacity, cost competitiveness, and improved digital systems. While not yet a seamless solution, the corridor already represents a crucial step toward more flexible and resilient Eurasian trade, with the potential to evolve into a core logistics backbone in the years ahead.