FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
New Eurasian Rail Links: China-Turkey Middle Corridor and Afghanistan’s Lapis Lazuli Corridor
Dec. 13, 2018 (EIRNS)—There are new developments in Eurasian rail corridors. A new rail connection between Turkey’s major city of Istanbul and Lianyungang in northeast China was initiated in late November, taking freight along the Middle Corridor through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, in a trip lasting 20 days. This Middle Corridor was launched to provide an alternative to the northern routes of the New Silk Road, which take cargo through Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, thence into Europe at Poland. The Middle Corridor runs from China to Turkey, which provides another gateway to Europe via the Black Sea. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was opened in October 2017, providing the missing link on the route.
Today Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani, at a ceremony in the western city of Herat, formally inaugurated the Lapis Lazuli Corridor, saying the route enables Afghanistan to send its products to Europe and other parts of the world. He called it a “milestone” in Afghanistan’s connectivity policy. Ghani thanked his nation’s international partners including Turkmenistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan, which, along with Georgia, signed the Lapis Lazuli Agreement in October 2017 with Afghanistan.
The Lapis Lazuli route begins in Afghanistan’s northern Aqina port in Faryab province and Torghandi in western Herat province, and will run through to Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan. From there, it will cross the Caspian Sea and link the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Tbilisi, Georgia and Georgia’s Black Sea ports of Batumi and Poti. It will then connect with Kars in eastern Turkey before linking to Istanbul and Europe, TOLONews reported.
