The new Port of Baku at Alat offers modern facilities and is designed and constructed up to international standards. It will provide an important new gateway to the Republic of Azerbaijan and to neighboring countries. Alat is within the boundaries of the Greater Baku and it is located at the strategic crossroads of the regional railroads and highways. The new Port of Baku at Alat is allocated 400 hectares (ha) of land, of which about 100-115 ha is dedicated to the development of the International Logistics and Trade Zone, part of which will be a common user oil and gas supply base. The northern areas around the port are reserved for future expansion for industrial, petrochemical and manufacturing business.The Port's site offers natural protection against waves and longshore drifts by the Gil Island a few kilometers offshore, which means that the construction of a breakwater is not required. The construction work is being carried over in three phases, and the initial phase (Phase I) has already begun and will finish by middle of 2018. When all phases are finished, the Port of Baku at Alat will be capable of handling about 25 million tons of freight and up to 1 million TEU annually.