The heads of state of the BRICS countries recognised the importance of the integrated use of transport to create a sustainable system within the group back at the Kazan Summit in 2024. Developed infrastructure, economically efficient routes, new technologies and standards should facilitate the growth of trade flows and the movement of people. It is for this purpose that the countries are exploring the possibility of establishing a unified logistics platform. Its goal is to create multimodal logistics between countries and to improve coordination and legal frameworks. When could the new system emerge? What will it look like? Which modes of transport and existing corridors could form its basis? And why do experts speak of cautious optimism regarding integration, as well as of a complex compromise between ambitions and sovereign realities?
Unified logistics platform
A unified logistics platform, experts say, is not about building ports, roads and hubs from scratch, but about the coordinated and most efficient use of what already exists. In theory, a single platform could contain information on all routes of the participating countries – both passenger and freight. This would allow companies to build optimal routes in terms of time and cost, attract foreign partners, and create multimodal routes using different modes of transport. In addition, such a system could enable transport companies to diversify routes and avoid dependence on a single port or country. This is useful in the event of congestion or restrictions. Thus, the focus is more on data exchange and digitalisation than on a physical structure. According to Candidate of Political Sciences and Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Economic Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Nelli Semenova, it is most likely that this will not be a single logistics centre in the classical sense but a digital and institutional superstructure that virtually links existing and developing national and regional corridors, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the North–South corridor.
“By its very nature, such a platform may represent an interoperable interaction protocol rather than a monolithic structure. Its core is a set of agreed technical standards, digital interfaces (APIs) and data exchange rules that allow different national booking, tracking and customs clearance systems to ‘communicate’ with each other,” Nelli Semenova said in an exclusive interview with TV BRICS.
Expert opinion
Eric Escalona Aguilar, Associate Professor at Bernardo O’Higgins University in Santiago de Chile, agrees with the Russian expert. He is confident that the very nature of BRICS as a forum without a founding treaty, budget or permanent secretariat contributes to gradual integration based exclusively on consensus, including in the creation of a logistics structure.
“From the perspective of economics and international relations, the emergence of a fully centralised (unified) logistics platform for the BRICS countries seems unlikely in the near future. Nevertheless, a federal model characterised by the interoperability of national and private systems united by common standards is quite possible and has a more convincing political and economic rationale,” Eric Escalona Aguilar emphasises.
Expert opinion
At the same time, according to experts, the physical basis of the system may consist not of new highways but of multimodal hubs and the elimination of bottlenecks at the junctions of existing corridors.
Logistics hubs
Logistics hubs are another topic of discussion at the BRICS level. In practice, these are expected to be areas hosting warehouse facilities, packaging workshops, customs zones and production buildings – all the infrastructure needed to concentrate goods and distribute cargo flows.
Currently, the possibility of opening a grain terminal in Egypt is being considered. Russia is already the main supplier of wheat to this country. Moreover, in the future this logistics hub could also serve cargo for other countries on the continent. Similar transport hubs could appear in other BRICS member states in the future.
Common rules of the game
The creators of the BRICS multimodal logistics platform will also have to give serious thought to its architecture. Experts consider this task to be one of the most challenging. After all, to connect flows into a single network, common rules of the game will be required, says transport cooperation expert Nelli Semenova.
“The platform should not replace national systems but should create common rules of the game for them: end-to-end digital corridors with simplified customs procedures, mechanisms for tariff coordination, a platform for settlements in national currencies and a unified register of trusted operators. This should operate on the principle of a federal network, where each participant retains control over its infrastructure and data but delegates to the platform the functions of coordinator and guarantor of compliance with common protocols,” believes Nelli Semenova.
That is why, according to experts, in the coming years one should not expect a so-called platform of platforms that instantly connects all existing maritime, rail and road routes of the group. However, pilot projects on sections that logistically connect individual BRICS countries should be expected. Moreover, some experts are confident that the project could start with the development of sea routes and maritime transport.
“In practice, logistics integration within BRICS will most likely initially focus on maritime transport and ports, as they form the basis of international trade flows and represent a natural focal point for standardising documentation, transparency and performance indicators at the international level. Subsequently, priority is usually given to rail transport, which is crucial for ensuring corridor connectivity and integrating inland transport,” Eric Escalona Aguilar notes in an interview with TV BRICS.
Road transport for last-mile delivery and air transport for high-value and urgent cargoes are likely to be integrated into the logistics platform at a later stage.
Northern Sea Route
Today, around 90 per cent of global trade is conducted by sea. For BRICS, given the geographical distance between member states, maritime transport is also of decisive importance. Here, the group has a trump card – Russia’s Northern Sea Route (NSR). Heightened interest in it from BRICS countries was already declared in 2024. The reason lies in the significant economic advantages of shipping via the Arctic Ocean.
The route connects the ice-free port of Murmansk on the Barents Sea with Provideniya Bay in the Bering Strait. However, the Northern Sea Route is often referred to as a bridge between Vladivostok and Murmansk, and potentially St. Petersburg. The length of this route is 14,000 kilometres. This sea corridor is almost twice as short as the 23,000-kilometre route via the Suez Canal. Thus, the NSR provides access to Asian markets as the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia.
In 2024, 37.9 million tonnes of cargo were transported via the NSR. More than half of the total volume was liquefied natural gas (57.7 per cent), while oil accounted for another 21.4 per cent. According to the Northern Sea Route
development plan up to 2035, this figure should rise to 220 million tonnes within ten years. However, experts believe that at this stage, cargo volumes are far from being the most important indicator for the development of this corridor.
“The main value of the Northern Sea Route for BRICS lies not in immediate commercial volumes, which are still modest, but in providing an alternative, shorter and sovereign route that directly links Northeast Asia with Europe and is predominantly controlled by Russia, reducing dependence on traditional maritime arteries,” Nelli Semenova believes.
Moreover, for BRICS, the NSR is also a demonstration project for creating independent logistics, including for critically important cargoes.
At the same time, there are constraints on the development of this route. Among them are risks to the region’s fragile ecosystem due to accidents, oil spills and noise pollution.
North–South corridor
As for road transport and international transport corridors, one such corridor for BRICS is the North–South corridor, which already facilitates cargo transportation from Russia to Iran, India, the Persian Gulf countries and South Asia. This international transport corridor connects more than ten states. It opens up prospects for forming common agri-industrial markets with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, including within the BRICS+ and SCO+ (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) frameworks.
However, experts believe that the significance of the North–South corridor goes far beyond that of a simple commercial route and has major strategic and system-forming importance.
“The North–South corridor is an integration framework that lays the material foundation for the transition from raw materials trade to the formation of shared production and logistics chains. Its ultimate value will be determined not by transit volumes, but by its ability to transform the geographical North–South axis into an axis of economic growth and political convergence for the countries of the global majority that form the backbone of the group. Without solving this task, the corridor risks remaining a local project, whereas its successful implementation could become a prototype and catalyst for the creation of an entire system of meridional links within an expanding BRICS,” Nelli Semenova explains.
Belt and Road Initiative
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2013. He suggested combining overland and maritime trade routes to deliver goods quickly and cheaply to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe. This requires improving existing and creating new trade and transport corridors linking more than 60 countries.
In total, more than 150 countries and over 30 international organisations have signed cooperation documents within the framework of the initiative. This contributes to the growth of local economies, stimulates sustainable trade, and provides new markets for sales and supplies for BRICS countries, especially Russia and China. At the same time, joint work on the development of the Belt and Road strengthens BRICS as an alternative centre of power, contributing to the formation of a multipolar world.
However, according to experts, the BRI currently represents more a set of bilateral “China–world” links, where most participants act as transit nodes rather than full-fledged creators of added value in new chains.
New BRICS transport corridors
In addition to existing corridors, BRICS countries are beginning to implement transcontinental corridor routes. Thus, Brazil and China have outlined the formation of a transcontinental – or rather trans-Pacific – corridor, with Russia also joining. The project envisages the development of an integrated Brazil–Peru–China corridor. Its core element is a railway line of around 500 kilometres from the Brazilian–Peruvian border area to the port of Chancay, located near the Peruvian capital. The railway is expected to become operational by no later than 2028 and reduce delivery times for Brazilian products to Asia and return shipments to Brazil by approximately ten days.
Moreover, this corridor is linked to Atlantic ports in northeastern Brazil, which are becoming a hub in the broader BRICS transit area of the Atlantic – Brazil – Pacific – Asia-Pacific. Thus, the Atlantic and Pacific segments of this project are connected to the formation of regular maritime routes between Russia and Brazil. It should be noted that in 2024, trade turnover between the two countries reached a record level.
There is also a concept of a large-scale transcontinental corridor from Murmansk to the southern tip of Africa, presented by architect Ilya Zalivukhin. According to the project, the development of transport infrastructure in BRICS countries could gain a new foundation in the form of a route combining the Northern Sea Route, Iran, the Persian Gulf states and the entire vertical axis of the African continent.
The key element of the proposed scheme is a 50-kilometre subsea multimodal tunnel between Iran and the United Arab Emirates in the area of the Strait of Hormuz. It is intended to provide a railway connection between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. According to the authors, this would open a transit route through Saudi Arabia and Oman with access to the African ports of Jeddah and Salalah. In the future, the corridor could be extended along a Central African route, reaching Senegal and South Africa.
Prospects for the development of BRICS transport infrastructure
Nevertheless, despite the number of promising projects and proposals, experts agree that at present transport links within BRICS resemble a mosaic of fragmented and weakly coordinated elements.
“Historically established bilateral ties and regional chains dominate, often integrated into global logistics flows orientated towards the Atlantic and Pacific directions,” Nelli Semenova explains.
In addition, according to the expert, there is a gap between declared potential and actual connectivity. Direct transcontinental routes between key economic centres of the group – such as Brazil and India or South Africa and China – remain underdeveloped and less economically efficient compared to traditional maritime routes via the Suez or Panama Canals. The development of a unified BRICS logistics infrastructure is also associated with a number of challenges, including differing railway gauges, incompatible rolling stock standards, and fundamentally different customs procedures and phytosanitary regulations. These are precisely the bottlenecks that need to be addressed – and, it appears, work in this direction is already under way.
“The declaration of the BRICS transport ministers officially recognises initiatives aimed at forming a BRICS International Logistics Alliance, which serves as pragmatic evidence that the group prioritises integration and cooperation through a platform that brings together both public and private stakeholders,” Eric Escalona Aguilar noted.
That is why experts expect a transition from a set of disparate projects to a more coordinated system over the next ten years. The North–South corridor and the Northern Sea Route may be among the first to be interconnected with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. However, these steps will be gradual.
The article was prepared by Svetlana Khristoforova.
Photo: metamorworks, 12963734, Ake Ngiamsanguan, metamorworks, Rost-9D / iStock
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