“The company will use the received funding to modernize the infrastructure of the middle corridor, which bypasses Russia and connects Europe and Asia.

“Until recently, up to 95% of freight traffic between China and the European Union (EU) travelled through the Northern Corridor. As international carriers are increasingly looking for alternatives to the Northern Corridor, demand for transport through the Middle Corridor, which links Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey through the Caspian Sea, has increased significantly. Its development is of primary importance to the sustainability of regional trade,” - the EBRD reports.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as Middle Corridor, is a multilateral institutional development linking the containerized rail freight transport networks of China and the EU, passing through Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey and Eastern Europe. The multilateral, multimodal transport institution links Caspian and Black Sea ferry terminals with rail systems in the Asian and European countries. On March 31st, 2022 the governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey signed a declaration on improving the transportation potential through the region.

Cargo transshipment through Central Asia and the Caucasus will grow six times in 2022 compared to the previous year, to 3.2 million metric tons, according to the estimates of an association composed of the major state transportation companies in the region. “This is due to the sharply increased demand for the route against the backdrop of recent events taking place in the world,” the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route Association (TITR) wrote in a May 10 press release. Russian Railways, which had played a major part in China-Europe cargo transportation, has fallen under American and European sanctions.

It is expected that local investors will frequently use TONIA-linked bonds as an effective hedging tool against inflation. They will also contribute to the development of the local capital market.

In 2022 the EBRD marks 30 years since Kazakhstan joined the Bank. With more than US$ 9.6 billion invested in the country to date, this is the largest and longest-running uninterrupted banking operation of the EBRD in Central Asia.