Russia and Azerbaijan want to introduce a minimum transit volume of freight along the International North – South Transport Corridor (INSTC), starting in 2028. Both countries commit to transporting at least five million tonnes along the route, but infrastructure upgrades are supposed to grow it further than that.
For now, there is a draft agreement on the table that has been approved by Moscow. Once it comes into effect, the document will legally bind both Russia and Azerbaijan to a minimum INSTC volume of five million tonnes annually. Non-compliance with the threshold will prompt compensation payments to the other party.
In other words, Russia will have to send at least five million tonnes down south through Azerbaijan. In turn, the latter will have to accept at least five million tonnes of rail freight coming into the country. The agreement is supposed to come into force in 2028.
Beyond five million tonnes
At the same time, the two countries reportedly want to grow INSTC further to 15 million tonnes annually. To achieve that, additional infrastructure investments will be necessary.