ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 20. The total volume of cargo transshipment through the Aktau sea trade port amounted to 3.8 million tons from January through October and increased by 22 percent compared to the same period in 2022, Trend reports.
The port provided transshipment of 162,000 tons of grain, 142,000 tons of metal, and 52,000 tons of cement. The port processed over 3 million tons of oil, which is 54 percent higher than last year.
The growth occurred due to a partial reorientation of Kazakh oil exports through the port of Aktau to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan route.
Over 19,000 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) containers were transported through the port, including over 13,500 TEU along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITT, or Middle Corridor).
The Aktau seaport connects Kazakhstan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Türkiye.
As Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev previously stated, Kazakhstan is planning a large-scale modernization of its Caspian ports of Kuryk and Aktau.
The Middle Corridor is a transportation and trade route that connects Asia and Europe, passing through several countries in the region. It is an alternative route to the traditional Northern Corridor and Southern Corridor.
The route starts in China and crosses Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then passes through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye before reaching Europe.
The Middle Corridor offers a land route that connects the eastern parts of Asia, including China, with Europe, bypassing the longer maritime routes.