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Doubts cloud Azerbaijan's vision to set up major hub at Baku airport

THE capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, could be dubbed a "second Dubai" being home to one of the largest and newest air cargo terminals in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

But to this Lufthansa Cargo regional director Christian Becker says: "it is not easy to see that a 'second Dubai' is needed."

Nonetheless, Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) - on the Absheron Peninsula and surrounded on three sides by the inland Caspian Sea - is seeking to emulate the UAE's role in turning itself into a Dubai-like gateway linking Asia and Europe, reports New York's Air Cargo World.

Azerbaijan is doing its part to encourage the flow more air cargo traffic through Baku, the home of Silk Way Airlines and flag carrier Azerbaijan Airlines.

In April, Azerbaijan signed an open skies agreement with the United States - a step warmly welcomed by Silk Way, which has been running flights to New York since May of last year.

Berati Bulent Ilhan, Cargolux's regional director for Russia, CIS countries and Turkey, said that a bilateral agreement between Luxembourg and Azerbaijan has given the all-cargo carrier a stronger standing in the region, with 17 weekly frequencies to Baku.

But does Baku really make sense as the epicenter of Caspian region trade? Is such a single hub even necessary? Changes in local industries and a diversifying economy have actually shifted the focus away from Baku.

Today, there are equally compelling arguments to create large hubs in other cities around the Caspian basin, such as Ashgabat in Turkmenistan, Tbilisi in Georgia, and Yerevan in Armenia.