At the Kazakhstan-Serbian Business Forum held in Belgrade on November 12, Ulugbek Orazov, deputy general director for commerce of KTZ Express JSC (a subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy), presented the company’s key initiatives aimed at developing infrastructure along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, which connects China and Europe via Central Asia and the Caucasus.
“In order to strengthen Kazakhstan’s position in the global transport system and create an integrated logistics chain along the entire TITR, we are systematically developing a terminal network at key points of cargo shipment and distribution,” Orazov said.
With the purpose of forming a terminal network in the European part of the TITR, the company’s plans include expanding its presence in the ports of Alat (Azerbaijan), Constanta (Romania), and Budapest (Hungary). The implementation of these projects will strengthen the transit potential of cargo transportation and ensure a full logistics cycle “from door to door” along the entire route.
It was said at the forum that in January-October 2024, container transportation along the TITR reached 46.3 thousand TEU (a 2.6-fold increase compared to 2023), including 27.6 thousand TEU in the direction from China (26 times more than last year).
On November 12 in Baku, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and China signed an agreement on the establishment of an intermodal cargo terminal in the port of Alat (Baku).
The document was signed between SK-AIH Investment Fund Ltd (Samruk-Kazyna, Azerbaijan Investment Holding), Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, Baku International Sea Trade Port (Azerbaijan), and Xi’an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co., Ltd (China).
Azerbaijan has provided a land plot, operating berths and terminal capacities of the port of Alat. The project will increase container train traffic between China and Europe along the TITR and reduce delivery times and transportation costs.
The new terminal will consist of a cargo yard, a covered warehouse with an area of 5,000 square meters, and a container yard with a capacity of more than 1,000 containers.
