ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 20. The volume of transit container shipments through the Kazakhstan-China terminal in Xi'an (Shaanxi Province, northwestern China) from January through April 2025 amounted to 10,524 TEU, which is equivalent to 126,288 tons, Trend reports via Kazakhstan Railways.
"Currently, the terminal in Xi'an has a capacity of 133,000 TEU per year. Last year, more than 276,000 tons (about 23,000 TEU) were transported through this terminal. In the first four months of 2025, 10,524 TEU (126,288 tons) were dispatched and processed. By 2030, the volume is planned to increase to 83,000 TEU per year," the statement reads.
The construction of the terminal in Xi'an began in May 2023, and it started operating in February 2024. Thanks to its launch, container shipments from China via the Trans-Caspian route (TITR or the Middle Corridor) grew 33 times last year.
Xi'an is a key transit hub for China and the country's largest dry port. Over 30 percent of container trains heading to Europe are formed here, and about 40 percent of imports from the CIS countries pass through this port.
The TITR is an international route that runs from China through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to Europe. It is considered an alternative to traditional transportation routes, especially in the context of global geopolitical changes and the reorientation of logistics chains.