RUSSIA - EAST EUROPE\\\


New rail route from China nears completion


The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail line was officially opened on 30 October, a route that could one day form part of a new connection between China and Europe. Opening of the line between


the Caspian Sea port city of Baku in Azerbaijan and Kars in eastern Turkey will create not only a new 850km route between the two countries – bypassing troubled Armenia – but also form part of a direct link between China and Western Europe.


Railways’


According to Azerbaijan head


of strategic


development and marketing, Ilham Abdulov, freight trains are expected to start immediately and passenger trains will also be introduced in future. The east of Turkey itself will


also have a direct rail link to Europe following construction of a new bridge in the Istanbul area. According to Azerbaijan Railways, freight trains could reach Western Europe via Yavuz


Sultan Selim Bridge over the Bosporus


about 25km north


of Istanbul, which includes rail tracks as well as a highway. Abdulov added: “Through this


bridge and the BTK line it will be possible to transport goods from China to Europe without any obstacles.” While there will be a break


of gauge between the standard (1435mm) track gauge used in Turkey and western Europe and the


broader (1520mm) gauge


Issue 1 2018 - Freight Business Journal


used in the countries of central Asia and Russia, there will be modern cargo transfer and bogie- changing facilities at Akhalkalak. A Middle Corridor route


headquarters has been established headquartered in Astana, Kazhakstan to supervise train movements from China via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to Europe and vice versa. Abdulov


said: “The main


advantage of this corridor is delivery speed, a short transit route and competitive tariffs.” The new link is also seen as an


important part of China’s Belt and Road initiative to improve land


transport links between China, central Asia and Europe. Most parts of the route consist


of modernised existing tracks, but it includes a brand new 109km- section from Georgia into Turkey. It could cut journey times


from China and the Far East to the Mediterranean region and Europe to around 14-18 days. The inauguration ceremony attended by Azerbaijan’s


was


President Ilham Aliyev who said: “The BTK is the shortest and most reliable route connecting Europe with Asia. It is planned to carry 5 million tons of cargo in the first stage and 17 million tons in the next stage.”


13 Turkey’s President Erdogan


highlighted the strategic importance of this project for the New Silk Road project between China and Europe saying that with the inauguration of the BTK project “the key leg of the Middle Corridor has now been completed.” The BTK project


is part of


President Aliyev’s strategy to diversify the country’s oil-rich economy and turn it into a trade and logistics hub for Eurasia. This also includes the upcoming completion of the first phase of the new Port of Baku and the launch of the Alat Free Trade Zone in 2018.


M&M to start work on Minsk hub


German-owned forwarder Militzer & Münch (M&M) has started building work on an additional terminal in Belarus in north eastern Minsk, close to the city’s main


orbital motorway. The 2,000sq m facility will be


used mainly for express cargo handling with


a small section available for long-term storage of


pallets and handling of groupage cargo. The decision follows the


inaugural German-Belarusian Council of Entrepreneurs (GBCE) event in Minsk in June. M&M chief executive Dr Lothar Thoma, said: “We see great potential in Belarus both in the domestic economy, but also as a transit country between the Eurasian and the European Union. Germany is one of the most important trade partners of Belarus.”


Multinational effort boosts central Asian energy industry


Antonov Airlines has been working with Bolloré Logistics China to transport compressors on four AN-124 flights from Canada to a gas field in Turkmenistan for a Chinese engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company. Due to the size and weight


of the cargo, both the AN-124- 100’s unique on-board crane


system and extension ramps and mobile cranes were used for loading and offloading. The consignment included a main skid, 13.75m long, 5.30m wide, and 4.16m high, and weighing 81.5 tonnes, and a sub skid, 7.65m long, 5.00m wide, and 2.44m high, and weighed 13.9 tonnes, in addition to miscellaneous equipment.


Antonov Airlines carries an


adaptor on-board each of its aircraft, extending lift capacity to 30 tonnes. Managing director of


Bolloré Logistics North China, Sun Hongbo, said: “The level of expertise and professionalism of ANTONOV Airlines combined with their unparalleled flexibility were key factors for the successful completion of this project. “The four charters are the


result of excellent teamwork and mark an important milestone


in the close


cooperation between Antonov Airlines and Bolloré Logistics.”


Earth movers on the move


Project Cargo Network member CF&S used its own specially designed rail wagons recently to move 14 second-hand CAT and Komatsu machines from North Europe to Mongolia. The units were dismantled in the Port of Paldiski in Estonia to fit the railway dimensions for the onward movement to Mongolia.


EU sanctions against the country


were liſted in 2016. GBCE co-chairman Felix


Zimmermann, predicted: “Belarus will turn into an important hub of the Silk Road Initiative between Asia and Europe, which makes the country a preferred location


for industrial, commercial and


logistics setups.” M&M Belarus was established


in 1992 and currently has about 400 employees at 14 locations. It handles groupage and full load transport as well as part load shipments with its own truck


fleet, along with air and sea freight services, customs clearance, hazardous goods and heavy liſt transport. Dr Thoma stated: “By investing in the new logistics location, we set the course for further growth of our organisation in Belarus.”


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