Europe is pouring billions into the Middle Corridor, the transcontinental trade route linking China and Europe via Central Asia and the South Caucasus, but Georgia may be letting the opportunity slip through its fingers, warns Paata Tsagareishvili, head of the Middle Corridor Research Center in Tbilisi.
In an interview with Interpressnews, Tsagareishvili said the European Union’s Global Gateway Initiative has finally moved from speeches to action. “The European Union has already gone beyond statements,” he said. “It has allocated about 12 billion euros through 2027 for infrastructure, energy, digital, and industrial connectivity projects across Central Asia.” The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has also lined up another EUR 7–8 billion worth of projects for the same period.
Tsagareishvili believes Georgia, strategically positioned between the Black and Caspian Seas, should be at the center of this regional boom. “You can’t build an efficient Asia–Europe land bridge and skip Georgia,” he said. “But with the current political course, the country risks watching others collect the benefits.”
Across the Caspian, the transformation is already visible. Central Asian states are not just exporting raw materials anymore, they’re building industries. Kazakhstan, for example, plans to attract USD 10 billion in investment for five new metallurgical plants by 2027, while Uzbekistan is advancing a USD 5 billion chemicals program through 2028. Infrastructure growth has followed: Azerbaijan has added 300 freight wagons, 50 locomotives, and 15 electric trains to its fleet, while the China–Kazakhstan Khorgos hub now handles 80 international routes, twelve times more than a decade ago.
By comparison, Georgia’s infrastructure looks stuck in neutral. The country’s ports still rely on aging equipment, and two of its most high-profile projects, the Anaklia Deep Sea Port and the Poti expansion, remain stalled. “Georgia’s rolling stock is in a critical state,” Tsagareishvili said, noting that the freight wagon fleet has shrunk by 41 percent over ten years and that nearly two-thirds of the country’s locomotives are more than 35 years old. “Coordination along the corridor is crucial,” he said. “And Georgia is lagging behind.”
The Caspian Sea remains the Middle Corridor’s biggest bottleneck, but even there, countries are upgrading. Kazakhstan’s ports in Aktau and Kuryk are being dredged from five to eight meters to handle larger vessels, while Baku’s shipyard is turning out new container ships for Abu Dhabi Ports and Azerbaijan’s state shipping company ASCO. “It’s an expensive and technically difficult process,” Tsagareishvili said, “but at least the region is investing in solutions.”
Beyond transit, Tsagareishvili argues Georgia could tap into higher-value industries if it played its cards right. He points to Kazakhstan’s recent USD 4.2 billion deal with the U.S. for diesel locomotives, including local assembly, as an example of how corridor countries can build industrial ecosystems around transport. “Georgia used to have locomotive repair and shipbuilding capacity,” he said. “We lost that. Now, we rely entirely on others.”
The challenge, Tsagareishvili insists, isn’t just about hardware but about mindset. “The Middle Corridor is advancing,” he said. “Georgia isn’t.” To catch up, he argues, the country must re-engage with EU funding, accelerate its port and rail modernization, and integrate its logistics strategy with that of its neighbors.
