ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 10. Kazakhstan may establish an international logistics hub and constructing a dry port in the Kostanay region, Trend reports.
The proposal was voiced by Aidyn Alimov, Director of "Social and entrepreneurial corporation "Tobol" JSC at the Kostanay Invest 2023 forum.
"We aim to expand transportation links in the 'Northern Kazakhstan - Southern Ural' direction. Based on preliminary assessment, this initiative has the potential to foster regional and cross-border trade, allowing for the consolidation and localization of production of goods. Currently, the main range of products such as asbestos, grains, processed products, and sunflower oil are exported via 160 established routes (China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Lithuania, Bangladesh, India)," he said.
According to Alimov, the creation of new enterprises is currently underway, while existing production expands in the region annually. In the industrial zone alone, there are plans to initiate 10 projects in the machinery sector within the next 3 years.
Alimov also noted that due to the region's industrial and agricultural potential, container transportation saw a growth of 563 percent year-on-year in 2022, and the growth is projected to be around 200 percent in 2023.
"Thus, the key challenge in this region remains the shortage of containers and the outdated infrastructure. For instance, from 2021 through 2022, the deficit of container transportation in Kostanay exceeded 300 percent, resulting in a significant loss of tax revenue for the region's budget. Taking into account the upcoming construction of an automobile plant producing KIA vehicles with an annual production capacity of 70,000 units, the deficit of container transportation will reach 560 percent, and during the harvest period - 800 percent. Additionally, the existing sorting station is not operational and has technical deterioration, thereby limiting the cargo station's capacity in Kostanay. Therefore, increasing cargo turnover by 310,500 tons (682 percent) will necessitate the presence of containers, storage facilities, as well as goods consolidation and subsequent industrialization. All these factors collectively highlight the need for a dry port in the region," Alimov added.