ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 27. The Kazakh company KTZ Express (a subsidiary of the national company Kazakhstan Railways, specializing in container transportation) plans to register a joint venture with AD Ports Group (ADP, UAE), which will be engaged in the transportation of Kazakh and Russian cargo through Iran, said Deputy General Director for Logistics of KTZ Express Aibek Kapar to the Kazakh media, Trend reports.
"Currently, KTZ Express is planning to create a joint venture with AD Ports Group. The shares will be 50/50. We are working on an operational model and a financial model. II'm not sure when it will be precisely. Most likely, we'll be done in the first part of 2024. The joint venture will be registered at the Astana International Financial Center," he said.
According to him, the Kazakh side will develop the service, while the Arab partner will undertake the passage of goods through Iran and further by sea. "Cargo can be delivered both to the Persian Gulf countries and to Pakistan, India, and North African countries," he said.
The project's launch will guarantee the growth of the North-South international transport corridor, which connects Iran with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan via Russia. It will also grant access to the ports of Khalifa, India, Pakistan, and Africa.
Furthermore, the North-South Transport Corridor was founded on an international agreement signed on September 12, 2000, by Russia, Iran, and India.
The agreement has been ratified by 13 nations in total (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Sultanate of Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Ukraine).
