Pashinyan Set H2 2026 Start for TRIPP; Baku Now Expects 2027

Construction of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) is set to begin in the second half of 2026, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has confirmed. The corridor, which will include a railway, a natural gas pipeline, and a power line traversing Armenia's southern Syunik province, is the centrepiece of the August 2025 Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement brokered by the United States and represents the most significant infrastructure project in the South Caucasus in decades.

Pashinyan told parliament that the parameters of TRIPP's configuration and operations are expected to be completed during the first half of 2026, with construction commencing shortly after. He was explicit about the corridor's composition: a railway tracing an existing but long-defunct Soviet-era route, alongside a gas pipeline and power line. Notably, he made no mention of a highway component, though he acknowledged that plans remain subject to change. Armenia's Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan confirmed that Armenian and Azerbaijani negotiators are actively working to delimit sections of the shared border, with certain sections being prioritised to facilitate TRIPP infrastructure development.

The TRIPP Development Company structure, under which the US would hold a 74% stake and a 49-year operating concession, has been one of the most closely watched aspects of negotiations. According to OilPrice.com, Pashinyan has consistently insisted that Armenian sovereignty, law enforcement, customs, and taxation authority will remain intact over the route. US engineering firm AECOM has already conducted a site assessment in Armenia. The US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has pledged $2 billion in guarantees to de-risk private investment in the corridor.

The strategic significance extends well beyond the 43-kilometre Armenian section. TRIPP is designed to complement the broader Middle Corridor, the route from China and Central Asia through Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea, and through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Türkiye, which bypasses both Russia and Iran. For Azerbaijan, the corridor provides a land link between Baku and its Nakhchivan exclave. For Turkey, transit revenues and trade volumes are projected in the billions. For Central Asian exporters, the route offers a new path to European markets for goods and critical minerals. The Times of Central Asia reported that the first two new ferries on the Kuryk-Alat Caspian crossing are expected to enter service in H1 2026, adding crucial capacity to the sea link that feeds TRIPP.

For businesses and investors, the H2 2026 construction timeline creates a concrete window. Infrastructure suppliers, logistics operators, and financing institutions should be mapping their entry points now. The corridor's combination of US institutional backing, Armenian sovereign guarantees, and Azerbaijani commercial demand for Nakhchivan connectivity makes it one of the most credible major infrastructure projects in Eurasia.

Further Reading

• Pashinyan Hails Georgia's Role as Armenia-Azerbaijan Economic Bridge
• Middle Corridor: Azerbaijan Consolidates Role as Eurasian Logistics Hub

Correction, 13 October 2026: an earlier version of this article described the Middle Corridor as running through Kazakhstan, the Caspian, Azerbaijan and Turkey without Georgia. TRIPP is a transit corridor through Armenia's Syunik province linking mainland Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan and on to Türkiye; it connects to the Middle Corridor (the Trans-Caspian route through Kazakhstan, the Caspian, Azerbaijan and Georgia) but is not the same route (Euronews, 25 September 2026; CBJ Verified Register).

Update, 13 October 2026: construction on the Armenian section has not started. Azerbaijan's foreign minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, said in September 2026 that physical work is now expected to begin in 2027 (Eurasianet via OilPrice.com, 13 September 2026).