An editorial article has been published in one of the influential Polish newspapers, Rzeczpospolita, in which the “Middle Corridor” is called a strategic central corridor for Europe. Below is the text of the article, but with minor abridgements. An Alternative Digital Route Is Important for Europe Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have laid fibre-optic cables along the bottom of the Caspian Sea.
This brings to life the digital version of the Middle Corridor, which is becoming an increasingly important alternative route connecting China and Central Asia with the European Union. Polish companies may look for opportunities as specialised suppliers of the technologies and services necessary for the functioning of the corridor. The approximately 380-kilometre connection between Aktau in Kazakhstan and Sumgayit in Azerbaijan is intended to become part of a much larger infrastructure system connecting Asia with Europe.
The Middle Corridor currently forms a network of railways, ports and sea routes through Central Asia, the Caucasus and further to the European Union. According to an analysis by the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP), this route is approximately 2,500 km shorter than the Northern Corridor through Russia. The new fibre-optic cable adds another digital layer to this system, strengthening the importance of the Middle Corridor not only as a transport route, but also as a broader Eurasian infrastructure connection.
The Trans-Caspian Fibre-Optic Cable (TCFO) project was initiated in 2018 by the Azerbaijani operator AzerTelecom, which invited two Kazakh companies, KazTransCom and Transtelecom, to cooperate. The project became part of the broader “Digital Silk Road” initiative, whose goal, according to Submarine Networks, was to transform Azerbaijan from a raw materials supplier into a regional digital hub. The project was divided into two stages: connecting Azerbaijan with Kazakhstan, and then with Turkmenistan by fibre-optic cable.
Shortly afterwards, in June 2019, at the EU-Azerbaijan Business Forum, the project was presented as part of a broader concept of creating a digital corridor connecting Asia with Europe through Azerbaijan. As reported by Strategeast, Baku’s ambitions were to transform the country into a regional digital hub at the crossroads of the Caucasus, the Middle East, Central and South Asia, thereby contributing to the diversification of its economy beyond the traditionally dominant oil and gas sector. At the same event, the signing of an intergovernmental agreement between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, which was crucial for the implementation of the project, was confirmed.
According to the Times of Central Asia portal, on the Kazakh side, Transtelecom and KazTransCom were replaced by Kazakhstantelecom, which in September 2022 signed a memorandum of understanding with AzerTelecom on strategic partnership within the framework of the Transtelecom Transmission Fund (TCFO). A year later, the operators established a joint venture, Caspinet B.V., with each company acquiring a 50% stake in it. Since 2024, the project work has been supported by the American company Pioneer Consulting.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
