Baku port to begin dredging works next year

The Baku International Sea Trade Port plans to begin dredging works next year as part of its master plan, said Khudayar Hasanli, an adviser to the Director General of Baku International Sea Trade Port LLC, a subsidiary of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, at the international conference "The Role of Ports in Regional Connectivity and Strategic Cooperation" held in Baku within the CICA framework, Report informs.

According to Hasanli, the decline in the Caspian Sea's water level is creating a serious problem for all countries in the region.

"We plan to deepen both our ports and the access channel, as this is a major issue for all ports in the Caspian Sea basin. Under these circumstances, Baku port has decided to carry out dredging works as part of the master plan rather than major reconstruction. The dredging process will begin next year, and according to the project plan, the depth of the entire channel and berths is expected to reach 8.8 meters," he said.

Hasanli also noted that a new route from China is currently being connected to Kyrgyzstan's railway network, starting from Kashgar.

"We know that Kyrgyzstan's railway network has two directions - southern and northern. However, they are not connected to each other. The northern section extends toward Kazakhstan, while the southern railways run toward Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. This essentially creates new opportunities for Chinese exports and imports to Western countries, particularly European states," he said.

Overall, trade between China and European Union countries amounts to 18 million TEU of containers, Hasanli said. If Türkiye and the Black Sea countries are also taken into account, the figure reaches 20 million TEU.

"In other words, the opportunities are quite extensive," he added.