The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) says it is preparing a concept for the Eurasian Transport Network aimed at enhancing connectivity across Eurasia and stimulating economic development, trade and mobility in the region.
The Eurasian Transport Network is a system of international transport corridors and routes spanning over 50,000 kilometres. In 2023, five key corridors – the Northern, Central and Southern Eurasian Corridors, TRACECA (including the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route) and the International North–South Transport Corridor – carried 260 million tonnes of freight and 3.6 million containers in international traffic. Container traffic has tripled over the past decade.
Having coined the notion of the Eurasian Transport Network in 2021, the EDB will soon present its detailed concept. Analysis has shown that the synergy of corridors is ensured not through their competition, but through the connection and complementarity of these routes. The concept includes ten key elements, such as addressing Central Asia’s challenges by making the region a transport crossroads, focusing on intra-regional connectivity, and providing a strong impetus to realise the region’s vast agro-industrial potential through new logistics and specialised rolling stock.
The EDB’s new report, titled The Eurasian Transport Network, also examines promising transport infrastructure development projects and initiatives, including cooperation between countries and multilateral development banks to their implementation. The report will be launched at the EDB Business Forum, scheduled to take place on 27–28 June 2024 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
