Author: Dietrich Schartner
In December 2025, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Port of Hamburg - one of the largest seaports in Europe - had expressed its interest in the planned dry port project in Gyumri. This interest has grown noticeably "especially in the context of regional transport and logistics projects", said Pashinyan at a press conference in Hamburg with Armenian and international media representatives.
The "Dry Port Gyumri" project envisages the development of a large-scale multimodal logistics and industrial park in the Shirak region, adjacent to Shirak International Airport, the railroad line and the important north-south transport axis. The plan is for a center that combines logistics, transshipment, production, warehousing and customs consolidation, thus developing Armenia into a central logistics hub for regional and supra-regional trade flows. The Armenian government plans to invest around USD 37 million of its own funds in the core infrastructure; larger foreign investors are to operate and further develop the facility.
According to the project concept, the Dry Port would be connected to road, rail and air transport, making it an integral part of Armenia's transport strategy - for example as part of the overarching "Crossroads of Peace" initiative. In addition to logistics areas, economic and commercial areas, storage capacities and a free trade zone are to be created, which should also promote local industrial activities and value creation in the medium and long term.
The Port of Hamburg and Logistics AG (HHLA) is a globally active logistics and port operator with a focus on port handling, intermodal rail transport logistics and connections between sea and land routes. HHLA operates container terminals and rail networks in several European countries and also has experience in transit traffic to Central Asia and the South Caucasus regions.
According to the Prime Minister, representatives of the Hamburg port administration confirmed that their interest in the project not only existed in principle, but had become more concrete and active in the course of recent talks in Hamburg. According to them, the meetings between the Armenian delegation and Hamburg businessmen had resulted in "very substantive discussions" and an agenda for possible further steps had been agreed.
Despite the growing international attention, the dry port is still at the preparation and negotiation stage. In fact, construction has not started for a long time, although a feasibility study was carried out in 2023 and investment plans are in place. So far, there are no binding timetables for the start of construction and no designated operators for the project facility; talks with international institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and potential partners from the Middle East are still ongoing.
The Port of Hamburg's interest is therefore a fresh economic boost for the project, which could show that European logistics players are willing to look beyond Romanian, Bulgarian or Turkish projects and consider new opportunities in the Caucasus. In a region where the expansion of cross-border transport infrastructure has been a key economic policy issue for years, this could lead to a decisive step towards concrete implementation and internationally networked logistics.
