While international transportation has been holding a significant place in the country’s economy, intracity and inland passenger transportation have become essential factors in the everyday lives of citizens. Since Azerbaijan has a 57.2 percent urbanization rate, a robust transportation system is crucial for inhabitants, specifically those who live in big cities like Baku. In 2022, the passenger traffic on the roads of Azerbaijan reached over 1.4 billion passengers, a 25 percent more than the previous year when the number of road passenger were lower than historical figures due to the coronavirus pandemic. Same year, rail passengers amounted to over five million passengers, which was the highest traffic figure since 2010. Currently, Azerbaijan has 1,157 kilometers of electrified rail network that positively impacts inland passenger transportation since they are fast, reliable, and more environmentally friendly.
Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) - where Azerbaijan stands?
China’s big infrastructure project, the New Silk Road, aims to create a vast network of railways, energy pipelines, and highways from Asia to Europe. Both China and Azerbaijan see this project as a significant development opportunity since the South Caucasusian country Azerbaijan is ideally situated between these two continents. To make the routes suitable for international transportation, the Azerbaijani government invests, also getting foreign direct investments from China for infrastructure projects. In 2021, China’s outward foreign direct investment stock in Azerbaijan amounted to nearly 21 million U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani government has invested in Trans Caspian International Trade Route (TITR) projects, including the construction of the Arat Port and the improvement of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which are essentially important for international freight and oil trade. As an outcome, the container traffic in the TITR has grown strongly and reached 50,000 TEU in 2022. Meanwhile, the freight volume in Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railways increased from 267 thousand to 480,000 metric tons between 2020 and 2021.Participating countries in this New Silk Road project could improve their infrastructure qualities, lower their trade costs, and increase their international trade incomes. Even though the economic effects of the FDIs on the BRI members are still uncertain, the trade between East and West is forecasted to increase in the future, and Azerbaijan will still be an important partner.
