ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 15. Today, during the first Kazakhstan-China Transport Forum in Astana, a bilateral meeting between transport chiefs Marat Karabayev and Liu Wei resulted in discussions on key issues and several agreements, Trend reports via the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan.
According to the information, the chiefs of the transport departments discussed the creation of a multimodal transit corridor “Russia – Kazakhstan – China” using the transboundary Irtysh River, as well as the establishment of a river route via the transboundary Ili River from the city of Konaev (Kazakhstan) to the city of Yining (China).
Additionally, the two sides plan to build a new cross-border bridge at the Maikapshagai–Zimunai checkpoint to accommodate heavy freight traffic and to open a third air corridor.
“The agenda also included the potential opening of two new road checkpoints connecting the East Kazakhstan and Almaty regions with neighboring regions of China,” the statement said.
Currently, construction of a container hub is underway at the Aktau port in collaboration with a Chinese company. This project is expected to increase the port’s throughput capacity from 140,000 TEU to 240,000 TEU. It is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of this year. In order to develop Kazakhstan's seaports and ensure maritime safety, dredging operations will also be conducted in the Aktau port waters this year.
“By the end of the year, the construction of second railway tracks on the Dostyk–Moyynty section and a bypass road at the Almaty station is also expected to be completed. This will increase capacity and significantly reduce cargo delivery times between Asia and Europe,” added the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan.
Moreover, the two sides also intend to launch a passenger train on the Almaty - Xi’an route and increase the number of weekly flights to 65.
Kazakhstan and China continue to actively develop transport cooperation. In the first quarter of 2025, the volume of export-import road freight traffic with China grew by 82 percent, reaching 822,000 tons. Over the first four months of this year, rail freight volume with China amounted to 11.4 million tons, a 13 percent increase.
