Cargo traffic on North-South ITC estimated to grow to 19.5 mln tonnes in 2023 - expert

MOSCOW. Nov 23 (Interfax) - Cargo traffic along the North-South International Transport Corridor (ITC) may reach 19.5 million tonnes this year, said Alexander Osadchy, Director of the Consulting, Technology and Transactions Department of B1 Group of Companies.

"The potential of cargo traffic along the North-South ITC in 2023 is 19.5 million tons. This figure is highly likely to be achieved. The actual cargo turnover for the first 10 months of this year has already amounted to 18 million tonnes," Osadchy said during the "Transit: North-South" international conference in St. Petersburg on Thursday.

According to the Russian Transport Ministry, in 2022, cargo traffic along the North-South ITC was 14.5 million tonnes, but in October, Deputy Economic Development Minister Dmitry Volvach announced another figure - 16 million tonnes. Thus, cargo traffic along this corridor may grow by 22%-34% by the end of 2023.

The Russian Transport Ministry earlier predicted that cargo traffic along this corridor would grow up to 41 million tonnes for the period through 2030.

Volvach also said that foodstuffs, primarily wheat, as well as ferrous metals, coal, chemical products, fertilizers, and oil products are promising export goods from Russia along the North-South ITC.

The North-South ITC links the north of Europe with the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean states via Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. The agreement on the creation of this multimodal corridor was signed in 2000. Its participants include 10 countries, including Russia. There are three branches of the corridor: the western one - along the western shore of the Caspian Sea, the eastern - along the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, as well as the trans-Caspian - through the Caspian Sea.

B1 is the brand under which the Russian division of the international audit network E&Y continued to operate in Russia after its departure from the country, the B1 press service said earlier.