ASTANA, Kazakhstan, January 29. Kazakhstan has offered European companies the management of the country's major ports, Aktau and Kuryk, said Transport Minister Marat Karabayev, Trend reports.
He made the remark during the Global Gateway Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity held today in Brussels.
As the minister noted, seaports Aktau and Kuryk with a capacity of 21 million tons are key parts of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor).
"Our President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has set a task to make Kazakhstan the real transit hub between Asia and Europe. We intend to strengthen the maritime fleet and establish a container hub in the port of Aktau. Construction will begin this year. We offer new investors 171 hectares for the development of terminal facilities. By 2029, a large project on the production of green hydrogen with a capacity of 40 GW will be implemented in Aktau. The port of Kuryk will transport twelve million tons of green ammonia to Europe; that is, we will create a green corridor in the direction of Europe. According to the results of the EBRD study, the Middle Corridor through Kazakhstan is identified as the most effective, realistic, and sustainable," Marat Karabayev said.
According to him, this is evidenced by the 86 percent increase in cargo transportation through the seaports, which amounted to 2.8 million tons.
"In 2024, we hope that cargo transportation along the route will increase to 4.5 million tons, and in 2025, to 6 million tons. The opportunities in this direction are now mainly used by Kazakh exports. Therefore, we encourage European companies to use the Middle Corridor, the main transit route between Asia and Europe. Along with this, we are ready to give the management of our big ports, Aktau and Kuryk, to any European company. In addition to this, we propose to sign an agreement between the participants of the Middle Corridor and the EU on the development of this route," the minister added.
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.