Page 48 - GEORptAug22

Gebruder Weiss expands routes on ‘New Silk Road’
Trans-Caspian International Transport Route considers JV for simplifying cargo flow
Georgia raises truck transit fees by 75%
Kazakhstan plans to transport 2-3mn tonnes of oil through Georgia in 2022
Gebruder Weiss, the Austrian full-service logistics provider, is expanding transit links on the 'New Silk Road' to transport goods between Europe, Turkey and China.
The focus is on routes that run along the historic trade route that passes through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to China. This trade route is shorter and less costly compared to other options. The Gebruder Weiss logistics centres in Tbilisi, Georgia and Almaty, Kazakhstan, will serve as hubs for the transport of goods, where they will then be transported by land, sea or rail along the New Silk Road to Central Asia or as far afield as China. The company is preparing for a sharp rise in demand and will offer more truck transport along this route.
"We expect demand for road transport to increase as China re-opens its borders, having closed them as a result of the COVID-19," said Thomas Moser, director and regional manager for the Black Sea/CIS at Gebruder Weiss.
Gebruder Weiss provides truck and rail transport, air and sea freight services. It performs customs clearance, warehouse logistics and e-fulfilment.
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) International Association has presented a concept for a joint venture (JV) with the participating state bodies of TITR member states, secretary-general of the association Gaidar Abdikerimov told Trend news agency.
The TITR is gaining importance as trade through its member states is growing amid the necessity for more trade route volume that bypasses heavily sanctioned Russia.
Abdikerimov said Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey were currently considering the JV concept, which sets out to simplify the process of cargo flow management, as well as expand the possibility of attracting additional cargo volumes to the corridor.
“After the mutual agreement between the parties is reached, we can expect a full-fledged launch and operation of the joint venture. The process of forming a joint venture has already begun and we hope to launch it soon, as there is great interest in the TITR from international carriers,” he said.
The fee for transit on the roads of Georgia for trucks will increase by 75% from June 20, from GEL200 ($68) to GEL350 ($119), the press service of the Georgian government reported. Government also adopted a corresponding resolution.
According to the current rules, only those vehicles that transport cargo from the territory of the seaport to the nearest customs control zone within a radius of 10 km or in the opposite direction are exempt from paying the fee. In the first quarter of 2022, the number of transit trucks through Georgia exceeded 116,000, and budget revenues amounted to GEL23.2mn (~$8mn).
Kazakhstan plans to transport two to three million tonnes of oil through the Georgian corridor in 2022, with further increase in the figure planned for the upcoming years, the economy ministry announced on April 26. During a meeting between Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili and a Kazakh delegation led by Yerzhan Kazikhan, the Special Representative of the President of Kazakhstan, the sides agreed to use joint efforts to attract and serve the transportation of goods in the transport corridors through Georgia and Kazakhstan “in the long run”, the ministry said.
Trade, economic, transport and logistical questions between the two countries were also discussed at the meeting, where both sides noted economic trends between Georgia and Kazakhstan were characterised by a growing dynamic,
48 GEORGIA Country Report August 2022 www.intellinews.com