Middle Corridor: A new era of East-West connectivity and economic growth

The vision of a Middle Corridor linking China and Central Asia through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, then onward to Türkiye and Europe is increasingly being seen as a strategic development that would strengthen connectivity and commerce along an effective, transcontinental trade backbone.

The corridor—which incorporates a combination of rail, sea and road links—is growing rapidly in importance as companies seek alternatives to existing shipping routes, in pursuit of speed, reliability, stability and cost savings.

For Georgia, the corridor represents a key opportunity for economic development. Likely gains include reduced transit times and a rapid growth in freight volumes, while the Middle Corridor will also drive infrastructure development and increase capacity.

Projects such as the Tbilisi Dry Port will reinforce Georgia’s role as a Black Sea hub via established seaports at Batumi and Poti, with effective inland transit flows. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is a core rail component, and upgrades across highways and port infrastructure are already underway. 

Georgia’s flagship event for facilitating cooperation on trade, transport, energy, infrastructure and digital connectivity—the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum (TSRF 2025)—is set to reconvene from 22-23 October in Georgia’s capital, welcoming over 2,000 delegates from more than 60 countries.

Sessions devoted to the Middle Corridor will debate capacity, efficiency and regulatory issues, as well as opportunities for investment in ports, rail, customs and digitalisation. TSRF 2025 offers a timely platform: many of the logistics, transport and trade bottlenecks confronting the Middle Corridor require serious transnational dialogue as well as practical commitments.

For Georgia, the forum is not just a showcase but a chance to bolster its position as a pivotal transit hub, attract investment, mobilise resources and enhance supply-chain resilience for Eurasian trade.

Increased coordination among corridor countries could transform the route into a genuine rival to northern and maritime corridors, assuming greater customs, border and regulatory harmonisation.

Meanwhile, current infrastructure gaps create a wide pipeline of investable projects. Partnerships with local operators, investment in warehousing, dry ports and free zones—like The Tbilisi Free Zone—will give Georgia an important competitive edge, while platforms like the TSRF provide an opportunity to identify co-financing opportunities.

Political and regulatory challenges remain, but high-level EU, Asian Development Bank and World Bank involvement adds credibility and mitigates risk.

Deputy Minister Guram Guramishvili outlines how Georgia’s transport sector is undergoing major reform, with new infrastructure, digitalisation and rising UAE investment reshaping its role as a competitive transit hub.

How are you reshaping Georgia’s transport sector?

The transport sector is one of the key areas where we place a high focus. The development of this area is of particular importance, and we are working on a new action plan for 2025-2026.

We have set key strategic objectives, including increasing the competitiveness of the logistics sector, enhancing human capital, developing the transport sector and ensuring safe transport connections and corridors.

What are the Ministry’s priority projects?

High priority is given to infrastructure projects, such as the modernisation of the railway, which is in the final stage of completion this year. The annual capacity of the main railway line will almost double, reaching 48 million tonnes. The East-West Highway will also reduce the transit time through Georgia.

In addition, there are several important reforms in the transport sector currently underway. I would like to underscore the railway policy reform, which entails the extraction of state-related obligations from Georgian Railway, which is a commercial entity.

Digitalisation and innovation are also key. One example is the introduction of the maritime single window system in Georgian ports, which simplifies port and ship processing. We are also working on a port community system, facilitating the exchange of information between key maritime players.

What is the importance of UAE FDI to the transport and logistics sector?

FDI in the transport and logistics sector is constantly growing and saw a 90% increase in 2023 compared to 2022. Abu Dhabi Ports entered the Georgian market through the acquisition of shares in Tbilisi Dry Port, and the port is now equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The UAE is one of our top-ten investor countries as far as the transport sector is concerned.