ASTANA – An Azerbaijani company has put forward a proposal to connect the Caspian and Black Seas via an underground tunnel to grant Caspian countries direct access to the world ocean, Khabar TV Channel reported on May 27.
Caspian Sea. Photo credit: advantour.com
The proposed tunnel, ten meters in diameter, would rely on gravity to channel water from the Black Sea into the Caspian Sea, using the natural elevation difference. Developers note that modern technologies make it possible to implement such an idea if funding can be secured.
They also believe that connecting the Caspian and Black Seas, especially from the Georgian side, will bring the Turkic states closer together in an unprecedented way. They are urging interested countries to elevate the proposal to the state level and conduct preliminary consultations.
“This is a reduction in logistics costs,” said Nurlan Munbayev, a water resources expert. “The tunnel would enable Kazakhstan to ship cargo – oil, grain, metals – through the Black Sea and on to the Mediterranean and Atlantic, reducing reliance on Russian routes or transit through Iran.”
The tunnel could also help solve the problem of the Caspian Sea shallowing, which in February dropped to the lowest point in 400 years. In Aktau, researchers are already engaged in several grant-funded studies examining the Caspian’s pollution levels, chemical composition, sea currents, and biodiversity.
The project would include systems to regulate water volume from the Black Sea and be accompanied by international environmental monitoring and biodiversity protection measures. However, scientists warn of potential environmental risks, particularly the threat to the ecosystems of both seas.
“Connecting the reservoirs may disrupt unique biocenosis due to differences in salinity and water levels between the Caspian and Black Seas. That is, water mass isolation technologies such as sluice systems will be required,” Munbayev noted.
The developers cite the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel, currently under construction between Denmark and Germany, as a successful example of large-scale underwater infrastructure.
