ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said Thursday a memorandum has been reached on the Zangezur Corridor and that the project could be brought to life within four to five years, creating a high-capacity, more direct link to the Turkic world.

Speaking to 24 TV, Uraloglu said the Zangezur Corridor should be viewed as a route that would boost capacity alongside existing east-west transport links.

He said the planned route would start from Kars in eastern Türkiye, pass through Igdir and Dilucu into Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan, continue through the roughly 43-kilometer (26-mile) Zangezur Corridor, and then connect to mainland Azerbaijan.

Uraloglu said work on the Azerbaijani side is nearing completion, while a memorandum has been reached on the Zangezur Corridor itself, though construction there has not yet begun.

“I believe works will start in the coming period without much delay,” he said.

He added that there is a 180-kilometer (111-mile) section on the Nakhchivan side, part of which will be upgraded and part newly built, while the construction has already started on Türkiye’s 224-kilometer (139-mile) section which is ongoing.

“In a four- to five-year period, by bringing the Zangezur Corridor to life, we would in fact be building a high-capacity and more direct corridor that can reach the Turkic world,” he said.

The Zangezur Corridor is seen as a strategic transport route that would connect Türkiye more directly with Azerbaijan’s mainland and, beyond that, with Central Asia.

It is also seen as a potentially important segment of the broader Middle Corridor, the trade route linking China and Europe via Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus, and Türkiye.

If completed, it would provide a more direct overland connection between Türkiye and Azerbaijan through Nakhchivan and could help expand regional transport capacity alongside existing routes through Georgia.