ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 12. Kazakhstan is going the extra mile to develop the transport sector and aims to make it a real powerhouse in the economy.
Trend News Agency gives a bird's-eye view of the major happenings in the transportation industry of Kazakhstan in the first six months of 2024:
Railroad Transport
- Kazakhstan's KTZ Express JSC (a subsidiary of Kazakhstan Railways) organized the dispatch of three container trains from China (Xi'an) to Azerbaijan (Absheron station) and Georgia (Poti/Tbilisi station) in the first two weeks of February 2024.
- On March 1, Kazakhstan's KTZ Express JSC and Chinese Yuxinou Logistics Co., Ltd. signed an agreement on the organization and dispatch of 200 container trains through Kazakhstan, including along the Middle Corridor, with a cargo volume of more than 20,000 TEU.
- Kazakhstan Railways JSC started the scheduled renovation of the railway line this year. In total, over 570 km of railway will be overhauled in 2024. Enhanced average repair of the track, complete replacement of rail supports, and rail gauge are also provided. In general, all types of repairs will cover 1,400 km of railway track. In addition to this, by 2029, KTZ plans to repair 11,000 kilometers of railway sections.
- Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan announced plans to create a joint venture to increase cargo flows along the North-South transport corridor.
- Kazakhstan launched a new Innovation Center created by Kazakhstan Railways jointly with the Chinese company Huawei on February 28.
- The volume of export transportation by rail from Kazakhstan to China amounted to 3.2 million tons from January through March 2024. This statistic exceeds the figure for the same period in 2023 by 21.1 percent.
- On April 25, Kazakhstan launched a new multimodal export route through Afghanistan. A pilot project was launched to organize a new multimodal export route from Kazakhstan through Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and then by sea to the port of Jebel Ali in the UAE.
- Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan agreed to jointly develop transit and transport infrastructure in Afghanistan. A corresponding agreement was reached at a trilateral meeting in Kabul between Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin, General Director of the Transport and Communications Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Mammetkhan Chakiyev, and Minister of Commerce and Industry of Afghanistan Nooruddin Azizi.
- President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the law "On ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Türkiye on international combined transportation of goods". The document provides for regular railway and ferry operations on the Caspian Sea, the provision of appropriate communication and transit services on railway lines connecting the states, in particular for international container block trains, as well as determining the conditions of cargo transportation between the two countries, taking into account the rules of customs clearance.
- Kazakhstan announced plans to launch 5 cross-border transport and logistics hubs on the borders with Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and the Caspian Sea.
- On June 5, Kazakhstan's Zhetigen Transport and Logistics Center (TLC) received the first import container trains as part of a new end-to-end multimodal service. This service ensures the delivery of container cargo from the central part of China to Kazakhstan through the Zhetigen TLC. The new service was created jointly by logistic companies CRCT, KTZ Express and Eastcomtrans.
- Kazakhstan, China, and Russia will build a new transport and logistics hub in the Moscow region (Russia) in 2025. In this regard, an agreement was signed on the development of a transport and logistics center on the territory of the Selyatino station.
- As part of the development of the International North–South Transport Corridor, Kazakhstan will build second tracks on the Kigash-Alimbet section, as well as introduce automatic blocking on the Alimbet-Kandyagash, Nikeltau-Tobol sections.
Maritime Transport
- KazMunayGas JSC (KMG, Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company) intends to increase the number of its oil tankers. In this regard, KMG is negotiating with Chevron and Tengizchevroil (TCO) to conclude a long-term agreement on oil transportation on the high seas (from the ports of Novorossiysk and Ceyhan). Once such agreements are reached, the issue of expanding the fleet with one or two more Aframax tankers will be worked out.
- During the first meeting of the Kazakh-Croatian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation in Zagreb, Kazakhstan called on Croatian businesses to participate in projects along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, including Caspian Sea ports such as Aktau and Kuryk.
- At the Global Gateway Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity held in Brussels, Kazakhstan offered European companies the management of the country's major ports, Aktau and Kuryk.
- Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev during a meeting with the vice president of the Rotterdam port, Matthijs van Doorn invited the port to take an active part in the development of the country’s Caspian ports.
- Kazakhstan's KTZ Express and China's Lianyungang Port Group Co. will build a container hub in the port of Aktau (Kazakhstan). The container hub will create an infrastructure to provide a range of services for processing and shipping container cargo in various directions through the port of Aktau, as well as container flow and services for the countries of the Caspian region and Central Asia.
- Kazakhstan's Aktau Sea Trade Port achieved a milestone in May 2024 by handling over 5,100 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) containers, setting a new monthly record for container throughput.
Air Transport
- Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air resumed flights from Astana (Kazakhstan) to Novosibirsk (Russia) on January 15. Flights are carried out on Canadian-made De Havilland Dash 8-Q400 new-generation aircraft. The frequency of flights is twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays.
- Kazakh Air Astana plans to increase its fleet of passenger aircraft. The airline intends to purchase Airbus A320/321neo and Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
- The new international terminal at Kazakhstan's Almaty airport is planned to be put into operation in June of this year.
- The Italian Neos airline plans to open flights between Astana (Kazakhstan) and Rome (Italy), as well as between Astana and Milan (Italy). The airline also plans to increase the number of flights on the Almaty-Milan route.
- The Kazakhstan's Air Astana Group of Companies increased its fleet to 50 aircraft. On January 20, the airline received a new Airbus A321neo aircraft, which became the 50th in the company’s fleet.
- At the end of January, during a meeting on the development of small aviation in the country, the country's Minister of Transport, Marat Karabaev, gave instructions to build four new airports in Kazakhstan. Thus, Karabayev was instructed to consider the construction and reconstruction of airports in the cities of Urjar, Usharal, Zaisan, Katon-Karagai, Karkaraly, Ulytau, and Arkalyk, as well as to continue work on the development of small aviation.
- Kazakhstan is interested in transferring 22 airports under the management of European investors. The Turkish-French company TAV Airports Holding, which partly belongs to the Paris airport, manages the Almaty airport with a passenger turnover of roughly 10 million passengers. We gave our capital's airport, Astana airport, to the trust of management at Terminals Holding, which manages Abu Dhabi airport. So Kazakhstan is ready to give the remaining 22 airports in Kazakhstan to European investors for management, which have a great potential to become a transit hub between Asia and Europe.
- In February, it also became known that Kazakhstan's airline, SCAT, would resume flights between Astana (Kazakhstan) and Batumi (Georgia). Flights are planned to resume on June 8 of this year. Flights on the route Astana - Batumi will be operated twice per week.
- Kazakhstan and South Korea discussed and agreed on the resumption of flights between Astana and Seoul, an increase in flights on the Almaty-Seoul route, as well as the opening of flights from Shymkent to Seoul and between Busan and the cities of Kazakhstan.
- Kazakhstan's airlines are considering launching direct flights with Japan, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan Saltanat Tompiyeva said during a meeting with the Japanese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Yamada Jun. Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue working together to resume air traffic to expand economic, business, and cultural cooperation between the countries.
- On March 15, Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air Airlines was granted permission to operate regular flights to Uzbekistan. The authorization was issued in accordance with the intergovernmental agreement on air communication between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
- On April 30, China Southern Airlines increased the number of flights on the Almaty-Beijing route from 3 to 7 times a week.
- On June 6, the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan and the State Civil Aviation Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation. The memorandum implies cooperation in the field of civil aviation to improve the level of flight safety, aviation security and ensure sustainable development of the aviation industry.
- On June 20, Kazakh FlyArystan, a low-cost carrier, launched direct flights from Astana to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The flights operate twice a week, on Tuesdays and Sundays.
Road Transport
- The Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan formed a pool of investment projects worth more than $31 billion in the fields of railway and maritime transport, aviation, and roads. About $40 billion will be required to implement all the assigned tasks, including increasing capacity in the transport infrastructure in the next few years.
- Kazakhstan plans to simplify road freight transportation with Uzbekistan. Thus, in order to further simplify the issuance of Uzbek permit forms, a draft joint order of the Ministers of Transport, Finance, and Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan has been developed.
- Kazakhstan announced plans to complete the reconstruction of the Atyrau (Kazakhstan)-Astrakhan (Russia) highway by the end of 2024.
- Kazakhstan will introduce a unified digital platform for quality control of road construction materials, KazRoadLab, in 2025.
- Kazakhstan intends to raise prices by 20 percent for travel on toll roads. Concurrently, local drivers will receive suitable incentives. It will fall primarily on transport vehicles traversing the nation.
- Road repair and construction work will cover 12,000 kilometers in 2024. This is a record figure that has not been achieved before. Of these roads, 8,000 kilometers are republican roads, and 4,000 kilometers are local roads. By the end of the year, construction and repair work will be completed on 7,000 kilometers.
Middle Corridor
-In January 2024, at the Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity in Brussels, it was agreed that European and international financial institutions will allocate 10 billion euros to support and invest in sustainable transport connectivity in Central Asia.
As part of this agreement, the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed Memorandums of Understanding totaling 1.47 billion euros with the governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, as well as the Development Bank of Kazakhstan.
In addition to this, the EBRD expressed its readiness to invest around 1.5 billion euros in Trans-Caspian Corridor-related infrastructure and associated transport solutions over the next 2–3 years.
- Kazakhstan and Romania will develop cooperation within the Middle Corridor. Kazakhstan emphasized the significance of Romania’s role in the development of this route, the active involvement of companies from the two countries, and stable ties between cargo carriers.
- In mid-January, Kazakhstan invited the Netherlands to consider the possibility of the kingdom’s participation in developing the potential of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
- The Middle Corridor’s cargo traffic is planned to increase to 10 million tons. To achieve this goal, Kazakhstan signed road maps with Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye to eliminate bottlenecks on this route. Along with this, a number of large projects are being implemented in Kazakhstan to modernize the railway and port infrastructure, build up rolling stock, and build up the merchant fleet.
- On January 27, at the meetings of the International Association Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (MA TITR) in Ankara (Türkiye) by unanimous decision of 25 participants (by the largest international and regional organizations in the field of transport and logistics from different countries), the head of Kazakhstan Railways was re-elected Chairman of the Board of MA TITR for three years.
- During the meetings of the International Association Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (MA TITR) in Ankara (Türkiye), a transportation plan along the Middle Corridor for 2024 was also approved. The projected total for 2024 is approximately 4 million tons.
- On February 14, Kazakhstan exported ammonium nitrate along the Middle Corridor for the first time. The first batch of ammonium nitrate produced by KazAzot JSC was shipped from the Aktau port.
- An agreement to intensify cooperation between the railway administrations of Kazakhstan and Austria in order to increase the volume of cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route was reached. A corresponding agreement was reached during a meeting between the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Austria, Mukhtar Tleuberdi, the Chairman of the Board of the Federal Railways of Austria, Andreas Matte and the Board Member of the Rail Cargo company Christoph Grasl.
- Kazakhstan reported that the volume of cargo transported via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route reached 274,200 tons in January 2024. Thus, the volume of cargo transported on this route in January climbed by 147% as compared to the same month in 2023.
- At the end of February, Kazakhstan proposed that the World Bank prepare a strategy for the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
- During the meeting of the Kazakh-Lithuanian mixed commission on international road transport in Vilnius, Kazakhstan offered Lithuania cooperation in launching container transportation between the countries within the framework of the Middle Corridor.
- Kazakhstan plans to transport 4.2 million tons of cargo along the Trans Caspian International Transport Route. Thus, new railroads, logistics hubs, and warehouses will continue to be built in order to expand transit corridors and boost the volume of goods transported by all modes of transportation.
- An agreement to intensify cooperation between the railway administrations of Kazakhstan and Austria in order to increase the volume of cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor) was reached in February.
- On March 1, KTZ Express and Chinese Yuxinou Logistics Co., Ltd. signed an agreement on the organization and dispatch of 200 container trains through Kazakhstan, including along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor), with a cargo volume of more than 20,000 TEU.
- On May 18, Kazakhstan and Latvia signed a Memorandum on the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. The signing of the document took place between the Ministers of Transport of Kazakhstan and Latvia, Marat Karabayev and Kaspars Briškens.
- On July 1, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a law "On the Ratification of the Agreement with the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Development of the TITR."
- Kazakhstan and Türkiye will create a joint committee for the development of combined cargo transportation, including within the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
- As part of the development of the Middle Corridor, Kazakhstan plans to build second tracks on the sections Altynkol - Zhetygen, Kazybek bek-Zhetygen-Almaty, Arys - Kazaly, Shalkar - Port Kuryk.
- Kazakhstan and the European Union announced plans to expand the functionality of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, turning it into a multimodal and competitive route linking Europe to Asia in 15 days or less.
- Kazakhstan called on Serbia to more actively use the expanding opportunities of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
International and cross-border co-op
- On January 19, the new international trade and logistics center began operating in Kazakhstan. The new center is located on the Kazakh-Chinese border, near the village of Dostyk. This project was implemented by Dostyk Storage LLP together with the State Revenue Committee. The main goal of the project is to develop and improve cross-border logistics infrastructure and increase the capacity of the Alakol road crossing.
- AsstrA Associated Traffic AG plans to open representative offices in Kazakhstan's Aktau and Astana cities. As she noted, the company is also actively developing a partner network to provide warehouse areas.
- On February 3, the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) approved the expansion of the list of priority integration infrastructure projects in the field of transport initiated by the participating countries. Thus, the number of priority projects increased from 7 to 11. New projects include ensuring increased transport connectivity among the member countries and promoting transit and export-import transport.
- On February 28, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan launched a new innovation center created by Kazakhstan Railways jointly with the Chinese company Huawei. The Chairman of the Board of KTZ, Nurlan Sauranbayev informed that this center was created to implement the Smart Railway project.
- In order to simplify cross-border trade procedures and increase transit traffic, the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan developed draft concepts and a Multilateral Agreement on Facilitating Transit Procedures within the framework of the development of transport corridors in the countries of Central Asia, the Caspian region, and the South Caucasus. The main goal of these projects is to introduce a paperless transit ecosystem in the countries of the region.
- Kazakhstan plans to launch 5 cross-border transport and logistics hubs on the borders with Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and the Caspian Sea.
- Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed a roadmap for the development of strategic cooperation in the field of transport and logistics for 2024–2025.
- The Lower House of the Parliament of Kazakhstan approved the ratification of an agreement with Kyrgyzstan on the creation of an industrial trade and logistics complex near the Karasu-Avtodorozhny and Ak-Tilek-Avtodorozhny border checkpoints.
- Kazakhstan proposed to launch a new multimodal transit communication between China, Kazakhstan, and Russia using the Irtysh River.
- Lower House of the Parliament of Kazakhstan adopted a bill 'On ratification of the agreement between the governments of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States on the creation of a simplified customs corridor'.
- Kazakhstan expressed its readiness to build a highway connecting the Almaty region of Kazakhstan with the Issyk-Kul region of the Kyrgyz Republic.
- Kazakhstan, China, and Russia will build a new transport and logistics hub in the Moscow region (Russia) in 2025. The logistics hub will allow the development of direct transport links between the Kazakh-Chinese terminal in Xi'an, Russia, and other countries.
- KTZ Express (a subsidiary of Kazakhstan Railways, KTZ), Chinese Xi'an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation, and Belarus' Unionway LLC signed a Memorandum of Intent to develop joint logistics services. Thus, the parties agreed to join forces by creating a logistics terminal at the Svisloch station in Belarus for the processing and distribution of goods transported along the China-Europe route and in the opposite direction.