TBILISI, April 15 – Claims that the railway in self-proclaimed Abkhazia could compete with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars transport corridor are exaggerated, according to new report by the Transport Corridor Research Center (TCRC).
The report was a response to recent public claims from the head of the container terminal in Ochamchire, who said the route through Abkhazia could become an alternative to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars corridor and draw away part of its cargo traffic once the terminal reaches full operating capacity this year.
Similar claims were also made earlier this month during a roundtable at the self-proclaimed Abkhazia international economic forum, where participants said the Ochamchire port, the container terminal and restored rail traffic could turn Abkhazia into a major logistics hub in the Caucasus.
The Georgian analysis as reported by BPN takes the view that when supporters of the Abkhazia route talk about competition with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, what they really mean is rail delivery of goods from central Russia to Ochamchire and then onward by sea toward western Turkey. Such a route, the center says, would be chosen on the basis of political decisions, not because of any clear logistical or economic advantage.
According to TCRC, it is hard to imagine that the railway in self-proclaimed Abkhazia could compete with the newly built and modern Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line. It says recent track work photos from the Ochamchire rail section suggest only basic repairs rather than a full overhaul, the last of which was carried out in 1970. Under such conditions, the analysts argue, train speed is limited to 25 to 30 kilometers per hour, raising questions about whether the line can meet the safety conditions needed for a functioning transport corridor.
The analysis also points to the legal and commercial barriers due to Abkhazia’s situation, where transport companies would be reluctant to ship cargo through an unrecognized stretch of railway.
