Corridor Capacity Tracker, October 2026: the Caspian and Black Sea routes

The Corridor Capacity Tracker sets the capacity announced for each subsea system on the Trans-Caspian and Black Sea routes against the capacity reported as lit or initially available, with a source for every figure. Where no document gives a figure, the cell reads "not published". This first edition reflects documents available on 17 October 2026.

Read across, two of the five systems are in service, the Trans-Caspian line and the Poti to Balchik system; two are planned, Kardesa and the Georgia to Romania link; and the Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan line has no published status since the 2020 agreement. Only the two systems in service have a published lit or initial figure, and the older of those figures is more than ten years old.

What changed this month

The Trans-Caspian line moved from construction to launch. The Kazakh government said on 6 October that 390 km of cable had been laid between the shores at Sumgayit and Aktau (government summary), and the two presidents inaugurated the line on 15 October (presidency). Kazakhstan's digital minister has said the line will add capacity of up to 6 Tbit/s, against the stated capacity of more than 400 Tbit/s (interview). The operators have not published a lit capacity, and the ministry had scheduled testing and commissioning for completion by the end of 2026, The Times of Central Asia reported in July.

On the Black Sea, the latest published lit figure for the Poti to Balchik system dates from May 2016. Kardesa, announced in October 2025, plans its first landing in Bulgaria in 2027, with Türkiye, Georgia and Ukraine to follow (Vodafone). The Georgia to Romania power cable moved into preparation for a marine survey at the end of July and has no final investment decision, according to oEnergetice, which cites a feasibility study that puts the cost of the planned fibre link at USD 70 to 90 million.

Method

Announced capacity is the design or maximum capacity stated by an owner, a government or a supplier. Lit or initial capacity is capacity stated as activated, equipped or initially available. Figures are reproduced as published, without conversion or estimation. Primary documents are used where available; where a cell rests on a news report, the report is linked and named in the sources. Not yet tracked: older Black Sea systems and terrestrial routes through Türkiye, until current figures are found, and the Kuryk to Buzovna reserve route described in 2023 (Capacity), for which no status has been published. The tracker is updated monthly.