Baku, April 25, AZERTAC

“Baku International Sea Trade Port” CJSC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on technical cooperation in Singapore with SMRT International Pte Ltd and Ectivise Solutions Pte Ltd to enhance the operational effectiveness of the new Port of Baku in Azerbaijan. The MoU was signed by Director-General of the Port of Baku Taleh Ziyadov, Chief Executive Officer of Ectivise Solutions Arthur Cheong and Managing Director of SMRT International Goh Eng Kiat.

The two Singapore-based companies will advise and support the Port of Baku in its efforts to introduce new technologies and innovative solutions in the Port and Free Trade Zone operations, including a Group Rapid Transit (GRT) System, Integrated Operation Control Centre (OCC), Auto Warehousing Storage and Retrieval System and other security systems. As a result of this cooperation Port of Baku will be the first in the region to introduce driverless transportation – smart cars.

“Today’s MoU will enable the Port of Baku to achieve its set goal of becoming an exemplary and the most technologically advanced port in the Caspian region much quicker,” stated Ziyadov. “We value the support of our Singaporean partners in our mission to bring technological solutions that are environmentally friendly and sustainable to users and clients of the Port of Baku,” he noted.

SMRT International Pte Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SMRT Corporation Ltd, which is the premier multi-modal public transport operator in Singapore. It is engaged in the business of operations and maintenance (O&M), engineering, consultancy and project management services overseas. Ectivise Solutions is an expert in large-scale network planning and a pioneer in ICT integrated infrastructure solutions such as Passive Optical Networks (PON) and Integrated Optical Backbone Architecture (IOBA).

The Government of Azerbaijan is currently building a new state-of-the-art port complex near the Alyat town of Baku that includes a large area dedicated to a Free Trade Zone (FTZ), which envisages the development of a transport and logistics industry, pharmaceutical cluster, common-use oil supply base facilities, and manufacturing, packaging, labeling and consolidation areas. This is a part of a larger strategy by the country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, to strengthen Azerbaijan’s non-oil economy and diversify it away from hydrocarbons. Located at the strategic crossroads of Europe and Asia and near sizeable markets like China, Turkey, Iran and Russia, the new Port of Baku is poised to become the leading trade and logistics hub of Eurasia.

Specialists from SMRT International Pte Ltd and Ectivise Solutions Pte Ltd have also visited Port of Baku, and acquainted themselves with its terminal at Alyat and Free Trade Zone to be created around it.