Azerbaijan Port Assessment

Sea and water cargo transportation have vital importance for Azerbaijan, especially in regions where road and rail connections are disputed. Azerbaijan has direct maritime connections only with other Caspian littoral states (Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan). However, the Volga-Don canal provides a maritime access to the high seas. The main activity is transport of cargo, mainly of oil and oil products. Shipping regions are Caspian, Black, Mediterranean and Marmara Seas. The main shipping company owes 72 ships, 37 of which are tankers (including 1 water-carrier).
Baku International Marine Trade Port is the largest port on the Caspian Sea. Its ferry terminal underwent a major reconstruction supported by a US$16.2 million loan from EBRD. It is now able to handle 30 million tons of freight a year. The Caspian Sea provides vital transport links with other countries and is being used to ship oil until various pipeline projects are completed.

Maritime transport and offshore pipelines
The Azerbaijan State Caspian Marine Company (KASPAR) is a major ship owning company in the Caspian Basin. It is a diversified transport organization whose main activity is the transportation of goods with a predominance of oil and oil products. Navigation areas: Caspian, Black, Mediterranean and Marmara Seas. Strategies and priorities for the development of the shipping aim at making better use of the Eurasian Transport Corridor. The main production base of the shipping company is a transport fleet consisting of 70 vessels, 30 of which are 34 tankers (water carriers), 26 universal cargo ships, and 2 roll on- roll-off and 8 marine rail cargo ferries, with a total deadweight of 316.0 thousand tons.
Today tanker capacity of Azerbaijan estimated 15-20 million tons of transported oil and oil products per year. The active development of ferry services on the lines of Baku-Turkmenbashi-Baku, Baku-Aktau-Baku is being planned.
In September of 2007, the Korean company GSEngineering & Construction presented to the Ministry of Transport of the final version of the construction project of a new seaport in Alat. Moving the seaport from the centre of Baku to Alat settlement should be realized by 2015. According to preliminary estimates, the construction of a new seaport would cost more than $ 400 million.
According to the project, the port will have 11 bridges- piers. The new port built to international standards, will be able to receive and process 11.6 million tons of cargo in 2015. In light of the emerging prospects it will be modern gate for access to the Great Silk Way.

For information on Azerbaijan Port Contact details, please see the following link: 

4.3 Azerbaijan Port and Waterways Company Contact List

Azerbaijan Aviation 

Key airport information may also be found at: World Aero Data Information on Azerbaijan

In 1923, Azerbaijan established the Transcaucasian Civil Aviation Joint Stock Company “ZAKAVIA”, and on June 2, 1938, the first air group was established in Azerbaijan. This date in 2006, was declared Day of Civil Aviation of Azerbaijan according to relevant decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
Today eleven regions of the country are connected by air with Baku. Over the past 20 years in the country's civil aviation has been invested over 200 million USD. This allowed to provide its fleet with modern aircrafts «Boeing-757”, to modernize air navigation system, to establish the system of training for twenty respective specialties, built in Baku and put into commission a modern international airport serving the aircrafts of more than sixty airlines. Currently airports awarded international status have built in five regional centres of the country.
In Baku Cargo Terminal (BCT) which was completed in 2005, and operating as a transit point, has been provided with all the conditions for the receipt of goods shipped from west to east and from north to south. State organization in the management and regulation of civil aviation is the Civil Aviation Administration of Azerbaijan.

Civil Aviation: 

State Civil Aviation of Republic of Azerbaijan was established by the Decree № 512 of the President of the Republic Azerbaijan dated 29 December 2006 and is the central executive body, exercising control, state policy and regulation in the sphere of civil aviation. The total number of employees of the Administration is determined as 49 persons. Expenditures for maintenance and activities of the Administration are financed from the state budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Administration is headed by a director appointed and dismissed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Two Deputy Directors carry out their duties and have personal responsibility. From 2008 to 2013 Mr. Arif Mammadov successfully directed the activities of the Administration. Director of the State Civil Aviation Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan from February 13, 2013 is Mr. Fuad Guliyev.

The administration consists of five departments:

• Flight Safety Oversight Department;

• Aviation Security Department;

• Licensing and State Registry Department;

• Foreign Relations Department;

• Financial and Economic Department.

For information on Azerbaijan Civil Aviation, please see the following documents:

Azerbaijan Civil Aviation Board Information

Azerbaijan Civil Aviation Board Structure

For information on Azerbaijan Aviation contact details, please see the following link:

4.4 Azerbaijan Airport Company Contact List

Azerbaijan Road Network

For information on Azerbaijan Road Network Contact Details, please see the following link: 

4.1 Azerbaijan Government Contact List

The length of public roads in Azerbaijan is 24 981 km. 191 km of these complies with 4-band movement of road transport. Total road density in the country is 288 km/ 1000sq. km.
The road network is securely connected to all the cities, regional centres, towns, airports, seaports, railway stations, reservations, resort and tourist recreation areas, as well as border crossings with neighboring countries.
Main roads along which the interstate flow of vehicles with cargo and passengers is the Baku-Alat-Ganja-Gazakh-Georgian border (Azerbaijani segment of TRACECA corridor), 503 km long border with Russia, and the Baku-Astara-border of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( Azerbaijani segment of “North-South” corridor), with length of 521 km.
Road transport in Azerbaijan has been fully privatized. Transportation of passengers and goods are engaged mainly by the corporate enterprises and the private sector (companies and physical persons).
International transport of goods in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the transit through its territory to other countries make truckers of 40 countries of Europe and Asia. Azerbaijan has a passenger bus service to the cities of the Russian Federation, Georgia, Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
International passenger traffic carried by the Baku International bus station complex, located at the entrance to the capital. The rates, as well as the schedule of long-distance and international routes can be found at the official website Baku International Bus Information Website

Distance Matrix

For information on Azerbaijan Road Network Distances, please see the following document:

Road Distance Table

Road Class and Surface Conditions

2006 assessment revealed that approximately 70% of Azerbaijan’s roads and highways were in poor condition and required urgent maintenance. Since then the State Program for Rehabilitation and Development of Azerbaijan Republic's Road Networks(2006‐2015) has acted as a road map for addressing these pressing needs. It envisioned a two‐phase rehabilitation of the national road and highway network: Phase 1 (2006‐2009) and Phase 2 (2010‐2015). According to this program, by 2015, Azerbaijan will have repaired and constructed more than 9,500 km of new highways, including 3,578 km of national roads and 5,928 km of local roads. As a result of increased government and international investment in infrastructure projects more than 5,500 km of roads and highways have been rehabilitated. Approximately 806 km of these new roads and highways are of national and international importance. International organizations sponsored 460 km of these highways, while 345 km was financed by the State budget. Currently, construction and rehabilitation work is being continued over 870‐km long parts of the national highways, including 749 km which is financed by international loans. The construction of the country’s international highways and roads along the East‐West and North‐South axes will be completed to international standards by the end of 2012 .

The following table lists the lengths of the main highways in Azerbaijan, and the sections that still require rehabilitation. Along the NSTC route from the Azerbaijan‐Russia border to the Azerbaijan‐Iran border, for example, 53% of roads need to be modernized. The construction work on the northern segment oftheNSTC route (M1) fromBaku to Yalama (Azerbaijan‐Russian border) has completed on 2011, which willreduce transportation time and shorten the distance between Baku and the border by 10 km. The upgrading of the southern segment of the NSTC route from Alyatto Astara (Azerbaijan‐Iran border) (M3) began in 2006 and is expected to be completed in 2013. The M3 is a four‐lane highway that linksIranian and Azerbaijani roads. In the East‐West direction, the main focus is on the 503km long M2 road between Baku and the Red Bridge (Azerbaijan‐Georgia border). The construction work is currently underway on a 171 km segment of M2.

For additional information on Azerbaijan Road Network, please see the following documents: 

Azerbaijan Transport Corridors

Main Roads and Roads Under Rehabilitation

Main Road Network

Main Road Corridor 1

Azerbaijan Railway Assessment

Azerbaijan State Railway (ASR) was established in 1880. Currently, the total length of railways in Azerbaijan is 2944 km, the length of operating railways - 2122 km, including 815 km - double track line. According to the “Program of Azerbaijan Railway for 2008-2011” the works on the design of high-speed railway line Baku-Georgian border with 503 km length, which is the central segment of TRACECA, have been implemented.
Particular importance is the construction of new railway section on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, 100 km, and the rehabilitation of the railway infrastructure of the Baku-Tbilisi-border with Turkey which will connect by rail area of Middle and Central Asia, through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey with Europe. Trains which will come from China and Kazakhstan through Central Asia, the Caspian region, Baku and Tbilisi will be able to get to Istanbul, and then continue through the tunnel under the Bosporus to proceed to Europe.

Railway Companies and Consortia

For information on Azerbaijan Railway contact details, please see the following links: 

Azerbaijan Railway Wesbite 

Azerbaijan Minitary of Transport 

4.5 Azerbaijan Railway Company Contact List

Key Route Information

For information on Azerbaijan Railway Key Routes, please see the following document:

 Major Railways

Key Stations

Baku Railway Station
The complex of buildings of Baku railway station consists of an old Tiflis station, built in 1884, the new building of the Baku-Passenger Station (60-70s of XX century) and Sabunchu station (1924), specially built for the USSR's first electric trains which had to carry the workers to the oil fields of Absheron (Baku-Sabunchi).
Station complex is in the centre of town, next to 28th May underground. International passenger traffic on the Baku-Moscow-Baku, Baku-Astrakhan-Baku, Baku-Makhachkala-Baku, Baku-Rostov-Baku, Baku-Tbilisi-Baku, Baku-Kharkov-Baku, Baku-Odessa-Baku, Baku -Tyumen-Baku, Baku-Novosibirsk-Baku routes is realized from here. Trains also make trips to Ganja, and electric trains to Sumgait city, Hovsan and Mardakan settlements.
Azerbaijan State Conservatory named after U.Hajibeyov, the National Bank of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev Palace are situated some distance far from the station complex.
Note that the realization of the tickets at the box office of the Baku railway station is also carried out through POS-terminals which allow the passengers to use bank cards such as Visa and MasterCard in case of payment.

For information on Azerbaijan Railway construction and maintenance, please see the following documents: 

Azerbaijan Railway Construction and Maintenance

Azerbaijan Train Timetable

Azerbaijan Train Timetable 2

Azerbaijan Storage Assessment

For information on Azerbaijan Storage contact details, please see the following link: 

4.6 Azerbaijan Storage and Milling Company Contact List

Commercial Storage

Cold Chain

Azerbaijan Waterways Assessment

Azerbaijan Milling Assessment

Food prices on some food products increased on a yearly basis
In Azerbaijan, a decline in wheat flour and bread prices was observed in August, which reflects the good 2012 harvest. However, wheat flour prices strengthened in October, although they remained at about the same level till the end of 2012 due to improved domestic supplies from the bumper harvest. However, mutton and beef prices increased by 12 and 6 percent respectively compared to the same period of last year. Since the share of household expenditure on food is significant, any increase in food prices puts vulnerable population groups at risk of food insecurity

For information on Azerbaijan Milling, please see the following documents: 

Azerbaijan Food Production Information

For information on Azerbaijan Milling Companies avaliable, please see the following link: 

4.6 Azerbaijan Storage and Milling Company Contact List