ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 12. Kazakhstan is planning a large-scale modernization of its Caspian ports of Kuryk and Aktau, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at the plenary session of the 19th Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia, Trend reports.
"We have promising markets - China, India, and the Middle East. Given their increasing food needs, the role of the North-South transport corridor will also increase," he said.
As Tokayev noted, one of the priorities of interaction between Kazakhstan and Russia may be the development of new logistics directions through Central Asia and increasing the capacity of existing routes to China.
"In this regard, we have planned a large-scale modernization of the Caspian ports of Kuryk and Aktau. In the Chinese direction, we are already implementing a project to build second tracks on the Dostyk-Moyynty section of the railway," he said.
He pointed out that over 1,300 kilometers of railways will be built in Kazakhstan in three years.
Over 2.6 million tons of dry and oil cargo were transshipped through Kazakhstan's Aktau Commercial Seaport in the first seven months of 2023, which is 24 percent higher than the same period last year. The port handled 142,000 tons of grain, 114,000 tons of metal, and over 13,000 containers.
At the end of 2022, the cargo turnover at the seaport of Aktau amounted to 3.8 million tons, which is 9 percent higher than the level of the previous year. Of these, 2.5 million tons accounted for oil, 447,000 tons for grain, 119,000 tons for metal, and about 786,000 tons were other cargoes.
About 1.5 million tons of cargo were transshipped through the seaport of Kuryk from January through August 2023, which is 15 percent higher than the same period last year. Including over 1 million tons delivered by rail, more than 430,000 by road.
Over the eight months of 2023, the port handled 480 ferries, over 13,800 wagons, and more than 18,000 freight vehicles.