ASTANA, Kazakhstan, January 17. Kazakhstan will implement measures to develop e-commerce within the framework of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor), Trend reports.
This topic was discussed at a government meeting chaired by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov.
The PM was instructed to develop effective solutions within a month for the development of domestic online stores and the introduction of commodity producers in the republic to foreign Internet platforms.
"We need our own bonded warehouses, which would simplify the process of delivering goods to both our customers and foreign ones. Therefore, the Ministry of Trade, together with Kazpost JSC, needs to ensure the launch of the construction of bonded warehouses in Astana, Almaty, and Shymkent this year," he said.
At the same time, Smailov noted that by the end of March, it is necessary to begin creating a container hub in Aktau and a full-fledged e-commerce logistics center in the port of Kuryk.
"This is also important within the framework of the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route," the PM said.
Meanwhile, the share of e-commerce in Kazakhstan reached about 2.2 trillion tenge (about $4.8 billion), or 13 percent of retail sales, from January through November 2023.
In 2022, the volume of e-commerce was 12.5 percent, which is slightly more than 1.9 billion tenge (about $4.2 billion).
Furthermore, the Middle Corridor is a transportation and trade route that connects Asia and Europe, passing through several countries in the region. It is an alternative route to the traditional Northern Corridor and Southern Corridor.
The route starts in China and crosses Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then passes through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye before reaching Europe.
The Middle Corridor offers a land route that connects the eastern parts of Asia, including China, with Europe, bypassing the longer maritime routes.