Amidst the increasing tension in the Middle East and the Hormuz crisis, Kazakhstan is preparing a new route between Asia and Europe. This country is spending about 10 billion dollars on the rail network, so that goods can be transported from China to Europe quickly and safely. Talgat Aldibergenov, CEO of Kazakhstan’s state-owned railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, said that after the increase in the Hormuz crisis, Chinese companies are showing more interest in sending goods through land route instead of sea route. Rail route is more reliable and delivery time is also fixed in it.
In view of this, Kazakhstan is rapidly expanding the Middle Corridor or Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). This route connects China to Europe. Its route passes through Kazakhstan, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. This route also gives access to the Middle East, North Africa and Mediterranean countries through Turkish ports.
This way will save 15 days
The length of this entire corridor is more than 4,250 km. This also includes the sea area of about 500 km. The biggest feature of this route is that goods can reach here about 15 days earlier than the sea route.
Kazakhstan-EU meeting
Recently a meeting was held between officials of Kazakhstan and European Union in the capital Astana. There was discussion on further strengthening the Middle Corridor. Both sides agreed that due to increasing tensions and war-like situations in the world, countries need trade routes that are faster, safer and politically more stable.
Increasing container transport, strengthening the rail network and improving infrastructure in the Caspian Sea region were also discussed in the meeting. Kazakhstan said that Aktau port is being modernized on a large scale. This project is getting funding from the European Union and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Apart from this, plans are also being made to increase new ships and ferry services in the Caspian Sea, so that freight transportation can become faster.
12 stations launched in Kazakhstan
Work on strengthening the rail network is also going on at a fast pace. In early May, the modernization of the Altynkol-Zhetygen rail section in Kazakhstan was completed. In this project, 293 km railway line was upgraded and 12 stations were started. These include 5 new stations and 7 rebuilt stations.
Kazakhstan is currently modernizing about 3,000 km of rail network across the country. Of these, work of 900 km has been completed. Transit cargo in the country has doubled in the last 10 years to reach 2.74 crore tonnes by 2024. Kazakhstan expects this to increase to 54 million tonnes by 2026 and 67 million tonnes by 2029.
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