Grampet Group will connect Constanta Port to Asia-Europe rail transit through the Middle Corridor

By Edwig Ban
According to a a press release of the Grampet Group/Romania, an agreement has been signed in Tbilisi whereby a consortium Romanian Rail Group / Grampet Group (GFR), GR Logistics and Terminals LLC (Georgia) and ASCO Logistic CJSC (Azerbaijan) will operate the transports. periodic between Constanţa and Batumi / Poti ports.
The agreement represents a new step by which the member companies of the Middle Corridor – Trans-Caspian International Transport Association will work together to intensify the flow of goods along this route.
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route starts from Southeast Asia and China, runs through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and further to European countries.
“One year after we joined the Middle Corridor Association, we were able to activate the Batumi / Poti – Constanţa shipping route, which has a very important role for the transit of Asia-Europe freight. It is practically the last link missing from the Middle Corridor chain. At the same time, the agreement from Tbilisi brings us closer to our stated goal of inaugurating the first rail freight between China and Western Europe, with transit through Romania, “said Gruia Stoica, president of the Grampet Group.
“The alternative routes, which pass through Istanbul or Piraeus, are non-competitive, because they have a transit time of 12 to 24 days. Once a permanent and regular connection between the ports of Georgia and Romania is launched, we can reduce this transit time by 5 days / 5 days returned, so the transit time between the Georgian ports and Constanta is reduced to 2 days, “added Sorin Chinde, vice president of the Grampet Group’s Transport Division.
Under the agreement, the consortium will operate a ship with a capacity of 144 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) or 72 FEU (Forty-foot Equivalent Unit), which will carry shipments three times a month.
The consortium’s management team will consist of: Gruia Stoica – president of Grampet Group, Lasha Akhalbedashvili – director of GR Logistics & Terminals LLC and Azer Mammedov – general manager of ASCO Logistic CJSC.
In June this year, the Grampet Group – Romanian Railway Group (GFR) and NMSC Kazmortransflot LLP, the state naval operator of the Republic of Kazakhstan, signed a Memorandum of Collaboration within the same project.
GR Logistics & Terminals, a subsidiary of JSC Georgian Railway, founded in 2009, offers international freight services by rail and sea – container and wagon transport, maneuvering services, customs services, storage, etc. The company operates two container terminals in Poti and Tbilisi ports.
ASCO Logistic CJSC (the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Closed Joint-Stock Company) was established through the merger of the two largest fleets in the Republic of Azerbaijan, respectively the one operated by the national shipping company and the national oil producer. The company operates two shipyards, commercial fleets and offshore support facilities.
Grampet Group – Romanian Railway Group is the largest private freight and logistics rail operator in Romania and Central and South-East Europe and the first European company to join the Middle Corridor Association – Trans-Caspian International Transport Route in September last year.