Transport Logistics Issues of the Caspian Region Discussed in Astrakhan

The IV International Forum "Transport Logistics of the Caspian Region", held in Astrakhan, brought together representatives of government authorities, cargo shipping companies, carriers, and service providers of the Volga-Caspian transport and logistics system and the INSTC. The participants discussed the development of the international freight transport links, current challenges in ensuring end-to-end logistics, improvements in international settlements, and other sector-specific issues.

Mikhail Kabakov, First Deputy Minister of Industry, Trade and Energy of the region, delivered a welcome address to the assembly. Andrey Nalimov, Deputy Director General of the Management Company of the Caspian Cluster of SEZs, was an invited speaker.

The Trans-Caspian section of the INSTC is becoming increasingly in demand. Transportation along this route opens significant opportunities compared to traditional supply routes from Iran and India to Russia and vice versa. “If we analyze the growth rates of cargo traffic, this is one of the fastest-growing directions. In 2023–2024, the volume of cargo transshipment via the Trans-Caspian maritime route through the ports of Astrakhan doubled and reached six million tons,” said Mikhail Kabakov.

However, the route is not always considered cost-effective due to route conditions constraining navigation on the Volga River, cargo downtime while awaiting transshipment in the Caspian ports, nontransparency in international cooperation and document processing within the framework of transport logistics, as well as the established duties and customs procedures. Addressing these issues will accelerate the growth of cargo turnover, make logistics more convenient, and simplify many bureaucratic processes. Work in this direction is already underway. Furthermore, Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, has emphasized the importance of developing the INSTC and invited all interested countries to participate in the implementation of the project.

According to the Deputy Minister, the growth in cargo turnover is also driven by extensive modernization efforts carried out by freight terminal operators. The Caspian Cluster of Special Economic Zones, established in the Astrakhan Region by the order of the President of Russia, is actively being developed. The Industrial-Production SEZ Lotus and the Port SEZ near the Olya Seaport represent the only site in Russia with direct access to the markets of the Caspian states, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and India.

– The Astrakhan Region is a territory with a unique geographical position. This makes us one of the key links in the development of the Trans-Caspian route of the INSTC. As the Governor Igor Babushkin noted in his address to the forum participants, the growth in cargo turnover requires the construction of a modern fleet, and this task is being successfully fulfilled by the Astrakhan shipbuilding complex. This complex includes the facilities of our anchor tenant Lotos Shipyard where dry cargo vessels, dredgers, and passenger ships for operation in the Caspian Basin are built. This will contribute to strengthening the maritime transport component at this section. And the development of the Port SEZ infrastructure will create modern port capacities that will interest not only the Caspian littoral states, but also other countries interested in cargo transit to Russia as well as the export of our goods, – comments Andrey Nalimov, Deputy Director General of SEZ Lotus JSC.