Baku Port Sees 123,000 TEU in 2026, Targets 260,000

Baku International Sea Port expects to handle 123,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of containers in 2026 and 130,000 to 140,000 TEU in 2027, Khudayar Hasanli, advisor to the director of Baku International Sea Port LLC, told Trend on 6 October 2026. The company is a subsidiary of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC. The remarks are nine days old, but they carry the most detailed capacity figures the port has given in recent months.

Hasanli spoke on the sidelines of the German-Azerbaijani Strategic Partnership and Connectivity Conference in Baku. The port is a Caspian gateway on the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route), the China to Europe route through Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea, and through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Türkiye and the Black Sea.

Volumes and capacity

Container traffic was over 77,000 TEU in 2024 and over 107,000 TEU in 2025, Hasanli said. In 2026 it is approaching 100,000 TEU so far, with the year-end forecast at 123,000 TEU. Against the 2025 figure, that would be growth of about 15%, a CBJ calculation. Ports Europe reported on 18 August 2026 that about 72,000 TEU passed through the port in January to July, up 20% year on year, citing Azerbaijan Railways, so growth has moderated slightly in the official forecast.

Current container throughput capacity is 150,000 TEU. Hasanli said the near-term target is 260,000 TEU, with full completion expected in the second half of 2027. A second phase, handled by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, would bring total cargo capacity to 25 million tonnes and container capacity to up to 500,000 TEU. One new crane has been acquired and another ordered.

The port also plans to expand its general cargo terminal and specialised terminals, including for fertilisers from Central Asia. CBJ earlier reported that Baku port container traffic climbed 15% in the first half as Middle Corridor volumes built.

Caveats from the port itself

Hasanli said the 2027 volume depends on the Middle Corridor, on ongoing projects and on developments in other countries, including Kazakhstan. In the same remarks he said that time and cost are the two main factors on the corridor, which points to efficiency along the whole route and not only to new berths and cranes.

The gap between today's use and the capacity targets is wide. At 123,000 TEU in 2026 against 150,000 TEU of existing capacity, the port would use about 82% of what it can already handle, and the 260,000 TEU target would be roughly double the 2026 forecast. Whether volumes follow the build-out depends on cargo supply at both ends of the route.

What to watch

• Whether year-end volumes reach 123,000 TEU, and how the final quarter compares with the first nine months.
• Delivery of the second crane and progress towards the 260,000 TEU capacity in 2027.
• Cargo flows from Kazakhstan and Central Asia, including fertilisers, which would test the specialised terminals.

Sources: Trend, 6 October 2026 (volumes); Trend, 6 October 2026 (expansion plans); Ports Europe, 18 August 2026