Azerbaijan has invested over $2 billion in the development of the Eurasian transport framework
As of July 1 this year, the total amount of investments made by Azerbaijan in the development of the Eurasian transport framework reached $2.1 billion.
According to "Report" citing the Eurasian Development Bank's (EDB) "Transport Projects Observatory", a total of 325 projects with an aggregate value exceeding $234 billion are being implemented or planned in the region.
The Observatory covers 13 countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Afghanistan, Belarus, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The largest share of projects (over 51%) belongs to the road sector. By investment value, over 60% of the projects are under implementation, 13% are in the documentation preparation stage, and 27% are in the discussion and planning stages.
Central Asian countries account for over 22% of all investments in the Eurasian transport framework – approximately 90 projects worth $53 billion are being implemented in the region, with 44% of these falling to Kazakhstan. Approximately two-thirds of these investments are directed towards the construction and modernization of main highways. This underscores the region's acute need for transport infrastructure development to stimulate trade and international transportation.
The distribution of investments in the development of the Eurasian transport framework by countries in the Eurasian region is as follows: Russia - $137.1 billion, Kazakhstan - $23.3 billion, Iran - $13.6 billion, Afghanistan - $12.5 billion, Kyrgyzstan - $12 billion, Mongolia - $8.5 billion, Uzbekistan - $7.2 billion, Turkmenistan - $5.3 billion, Tajikistan - $5 billion, Armenia - $4.7 billion, Georgia - $2.6 billion, and Belarus - $0.2 billion.
Seven of the 10 largest projects in the Eurasian transport framework fall to Russia. As a result, the development of the North Eurasian transport corridor has become the most capital-intensive direction, requiring $78 billion in investment, which accounts for one-third of the total investments in the Eurasian transport framework.
The 10 largest projects in Central Asia account for 58% of all investments in the Eurasian transport framework in Central Asia. These include the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway (US$4.7 billion), the Tashkent-Andijan highway (US$4.3 billion), the Balykchy-Kochkor-Kara-Keche-Makmal-Jalal-Abad railway (US$4.1 billion), the North-South railway in Tajikistan (US$3.9 billion), and others.
The EDB notes that prioritizing projects is particularly important, especially under conditions of limited investment resources. In countries with low GDP levels such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Armenia, expenditures on transport infrastructure are particularly significant relative to the size of their economies.
“Of the total number of projects, 113 involve private sector participation. Approximately half of these are in logistics and warehouse infrastructure. Around 17 projects are being implemented or could potentially be implemented in a public-private partnership format,” the bank's statement said.