Azerbaijan plans to complete its share of the Zangazur corridor by 2024. It has already completed 40 per cent of the railway line and 70 per cent of the highway on its territory, and expects to finish these works within two years. This was said by the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev last week, as reported by Azertag.

Completion of this vital corridor, that connects Azerbaijan and Armenia, is not a given. Until December last year the countries were in dispute over the multimodal connection, which connects to the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan. Since a year however, all parties agree about the significance of the transport link.

The Zangazur corridor

The Zangazur corridor runs from Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan via the Zangilan region. As Nakhchivan borders Iran and Turkey, it will facilitate east-west cargo flows. But the link is also expected to complement the International North South Transport Corridor, which connects Russia to India. Armenia does not have a railway connection with Iran, but Nakhchivan does. With the Zangazur corridor, the transit through Azerbaijan is no longer the only option.

Since the beginning of this year, Azerbaijan has been working on the reconstruction of the Horadiz-Aghband railway line that runs up to the border with Armenia. This is a 110.4-kilometres railway line, which should already be completed next year.

In order to have a fully running corridor, however, not only construction works are needed. The purpose of the corridor is to have a seamless connection. In order to realise this, efficient border procedures should be in place. When it comes to customs, Azerbaijan insists that Armenia should not apply any kind of control on cargo or people just like it happens in the Lachin corridor.

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