BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 6.
Rhenus Group plans to expand its operations along the Middle
Corridor, corporate representative of the Rhenus Group, Heinrich
Kerstgens, said at the German-Azerbaijani Strategic Partnership and
Connectivity Conference held in Baku on Tuesday, Trend's correspondent
reports from the event.
According to him, the economic development of countries along
the Middle Corridor can significantly increase the demand for
logistics services in the future.
Population growth and the rise in Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
will increase the demand for goods and consumer products, which, in
turn, will spur industrial development.
"All of this will rely on logistics, as none of these processes
can function without it. Logistics may not be the single most
critical factor, but nothing is possible without it," Kerstgens
noted.
He pointed out that this is precisely why the Rhenus Group has
decided to focus its operations in Azerbaijan on the Middle
Corridor.
"We aren’t claiming that we want to transport every single
container moving between China and Europe and back. Transit will
certainly be important. However, the primary opportunity we see for
the Middle Corridor in the medium and long term lies in the growth
of the economies situated along this route, and in the corridor
becoming a catalyst for increased prosperity and GDP growth in
those countries," the company representative emphasized.
According to Kerstgens, a key driver of future cargo volume
growth along the Middle Corridor will be the expansion of trade and
economic ties, both among Central Asian nations and between Central
Asia and the South Caucasus.
"We envision transport along the Middle Corridor primarily
occurring between Central Asian countries, within those countries,
as well as between the South Caucasus and Central Asia, and vice
versa. Of course, connections involving Europe, linking it to the
South Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as links with China, will
also be significant," he explained.
He added that these specific routes could drive a substantial
growth in freight volumes in the future.
"In our view, this will be the key factor driving the greatest
volume growth in the future, and we aim to be one of the parties
enabling this," Kerstgens noted.
The Rhenus Group representative also said that the company is
participating in various projects in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and
Azerbaijan to achieve this goal.
"We are implementing projects in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and
Azerbaijan to make this a reality," he concluded.
