Kazakhstan to build new dry port at Bakhty checkpoint - President
«Today we witness the formation of a new economic geography of the world. A rapid growth of trade flows from China to Europe, Russia, Central Asia and back is forecast. Kazakhstan is located at the intersection of roads connecting the global North and South, East and West. This is our serious advantage which opens new horizons. The transport and logistics sector must become one of the engines of the country’s economic development. Amid active competition, we have to promptly solve the key problems of this sector,» said Tokayev.
First of all, as the Head of State emphasized the need to implement a number of large railroad projects, such as Dostyk-Moiynty, Bakhty-Ayagoz, Darbaza-Maktaaral and Almaty bypass line. Kazakhstan will continue cooperating with Russia and China in transport sphere, he said.
«The Trans-Caspian Route is called to play an important role in strengthening our transit potential. In a short-term outlook, the volumes of transportations via this corridor may increase fivefold. For this we need to join efforts with partner countries – China, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye,» he stressed.
As he pointed out, a new dry port must be built at Bakhty checkpoint. The construction of a container hub in Aktau must be accelerated, port capacities on the Black Sea along the Middle Corridor must be expanded. The construction of Kazakhstani terminals in China’s Xi’an and Georgia’s Poti port has been launched.
«These are the real examples of the synergy of China’s Belt&Road mega project with our national initiatives. The implementation of the transport potential depends on our constructive and good-neighbour relations with all surrounding countries, including Russia, China, and our neighbours in Central and Southern Asia,» said the President.
The President stated also the importance of introducing a comprehensive plan of maritime infrastructure development, with a focus on Kuryk Port which is expected to become a full-fledged logistics cluster, like Aktau. The North-South international corridor is no less important, as it provides an access to the Persian Gulf states’ ports.
«For this reason, the capacity of the railroad section along this route must be doubled. First of all, we need to begin modernizing the Kazakh section of Bolashak-Chelyabinsk railroad. In order to efficiently integrate into the international routes, we need to provide a full range of logistics services. The airports of Astana, Almaty, Shymkent and Aktobe must operate as multimodal centers by offering competitive and quality services on cargo accumulation and redistribution,» he added.
In whole, as the President stated, the country needs an adequate tariff and regulatory policy as well as active attraction of private investments.