BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 10. Central Asia’s
transport corridors are undergoing a major transformation amid
rising cargo flows and changing patterns of international trade,
with their future development depending on a combination of
infrastructure investment, digital solutions, international
standards and private sector participation, Tatiana Rey-Bellet,
IRU’s TIR and Transit System Director, told Trend in an exclusive
interview.
According to Rey-Bellet, the current dynamics of road transport
development in the region are linked to growing demand for
alternative trade routes capable of ensuring more resilient supply
chains. “The operational capacity and efficiency of current road
border crossings along the North-South and Western Europe–Western
China corridors passing through Central Asia are clearly undergoing
profound and structural shifts. Driven by regional geopolitical
unrest and a surging demand for trade routes bypassing sanctioned
territories or maritime vulnerabilities, these corridors are
experiencing record cargo volumes,” Rey-Bellet said.
She noted that road transport remains one of the most flexible
tools for maintaining supply chains, which is particularly
important for Central Asia, where many countries are landlocked.
“Road transport is flexible and quickly adapts to keep supply
chains up and running, which is crucial for a region with
landlocked countries,” the IRU representative said.
At the same time, she emphasized that the development of
transport corridors requires not only investment in physical
infrastructure but also improvements in border procedures and
digital connectivity between countries. “Despite massive
investments into hard infrastructure, led by governments and
multilateral development banks across the region, it remains a
network where rapid hardware expansions are routinely undermined by
soft connectivity inefficiencies,” Rey-Bellet said.
Furthermore, she noted that modernization of border crossings
should be accompanied by harmonized procedures and the
implementation of international standards. “Major border crossings
are heavily congested, with processing times often unpredictable,
queues occasionally stretching for kilometres due to
non-synchronised customs procedures, repetitive physical
inspections, and outdated handling facilities,” she said.
According to Rey-Bellet, one of the key priorities for further
development is improving data exchange between countries. “While
many modernised border crossings are well technically equipped,
cross-border data exchange is severely fragmented. In the current
highly volatile geopolitical environment, customs administrations
often tend to prioritise national, isolated IT solutions and
systems. As a result, transport operators are often forced to
follow separate repetitive compliance checks at every single border
entry,” she said.
The IRU representative highlighted digital transport solutions
such as eTIR and eCMR as important tools for reducing
administrative barriers and improving the efficiency, transparency
and security of cross-border trade. “eTIR and eCMR, which are now
available to all countries in the region, are among the most
powerful levers for making cross-border trade more efficient,
transparent and secure,” Rey-Bellet said.
She noted that eTIR operations have already begun in several
regional corridors. “Following the first eTIR transport operations
between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
earlier this year, eTIR operations have been run across the Caspian
Sea between three countries: Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan,” she said.
Moreover, Rey-Bellet stated that the next important step will be
Kazakhstan’s integration into the eTIR system, given the country’s
role in Eurasian overland freight transportation. “Kazakhstan,
which provides transit for some 80% of overland freight cargo
originating from China, is expected to follow suit shortly. IRU,
jointly with UNECE, is working closely with Kazakhstan’s customs
authorities to deploy eTIR and connect to neighbouring countries,”
she said.
She added that the eTIR National Application developed by UNECE
allows countries to accelerate implementation of the system even in
technically challenging environments. “The roll-out of the eTIR
National Application, developed by UNECE, allows countries to use
this off-the-shelf solution to fast-track eTIR,” Rey-Bellet
said.
In addition, she highlighted the growing importance of eCMR, an
electronic version of the international consignment note, which can
simplify freight documentation procedures. “eCMR is also gaining
momentum as countries from the region prepare for bilateral and
multilateral pilots,” she said.
According to Rey-Bellet, agreements have already been reached to
test eCMR for shipments between Russia and Azerbaijan, as well as
between Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
She added that IRU, together with the European Commission’s
Directorate-General for International Partnerships, is implementing
the “Modernisation of the Road Transport Industry” project, which
focuses on creating conditions for eCMR implementation. “It is
crucial to begin by establishing mechanisms to ensure the
acceptance of eCMR by competent authorities, as recognition of the
electronic document by government agencies is a prerequisite for
its practical application in international freight transport,”
Rey-Bellet said.
She noted that the project includes an analysis of legal
frameworks using Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan as examples, followed by
pilot operations and recommendations. “Successful test runs can
subsequently be replicated in other countries,” she said.
Speaking about the long-term conditions required for sustainable
transit growth in Central Asia, Rey-Bellet stressed that an
effective transport system depends not only on building new roads
and border facilities, but also on how efficiently they are
integrated into international networks. “Effective transport is not
limited to infrastructure. It must also consider how infrastructure
connects to broader networks, and, most importantly, how it is used
by people and businesses,” she said.
She emphasized that even high-quality roads cannot fully address
logistics challenges without efficient border operations. “We can
have fantastic roads, but if they are just going to get trucks
faster to congested borders where they have to spend sometimes days
or weeks, that would not help anyone,” Rey-Bellet said.
According to her, the success of commercial road transport is
determined by efficiency and resilience, requiring a comprehensive
approach. “Any investment in transport must therefore consider both
hard infrastructure and soft connectivity,” she said.
One of the most important elements of this approach is the use
of international standards, particularly in transit operations.
“International standards, which are crucial for fostering efficient
and resilient road transport operations, are needed, with the most
important being transit standards, such as the TIR system, for
border crossings,” Rey-Bellet said.
She stressed the importance of reducing non-tariff barriers,
especially for landlocked economies. “Transport costs average at
least 50% more in landlocked countries, so reducing non-tariff
barriers is key for bolstering their economies,” she said.
According to Rey-Bellet, the adoption of international
mechanisms has already produced measurable results in the region.
“Central Asia’s road freight volumes increased by 60% following
accession to the TIR Convention,” she noted.
She also emphasized the importance of intermodal transport,
where different modes of transportation work together to provide
flexible and cost-effective solutions. Another priority, according
to Rey-Bellet, is increasing private sector participation through
public-private partnership mechanisms. “We must engage the private
sector through PPP mechanisms to ensure that road infrastructure
and border facility upgrades meet on-the-ground realities,” she
said.
The IRU representative noted that transport development requires
significant investment, but some barriers can be addressed through
cost-effective organizational solutions. “Road transport needs
robust and resilient infrastructure, which costs billions. But
infrastructure shortcomings can be compensated by soft measures,
which cost next to nothing yet deliver huge, immediate benefits,”
Rey-Bellet concluded.
