TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, October 3. Uzbekistan’s Uztemiryulcontainer JSC, specializing in customs declaration of goods and the provision of customs open and covered warehouses for storing goods, and the German Rhenus Group logistics company will create a joint venture to modernize the railway infrastructure in Uzbekistan, Trend reports.
The news followed a recent meeting between Chairman of the Board of Uzbek Railways Zufar Narzullayev and head of the German Rhenus SE&Co. KG Heinrich Kerstgens in Berlin.
Following the meeting, the parties signed a memorandum on the prospects of cooperation and an investment agreement worth $40 million.
The documents provide for the participation of the German company in the modernization of the infrastructure of logistics centers at Uztemiryulcontainer JSC, the creation of new terminals in Andijan and Samarkand, as well as issues of increasing the flow of transit cargo and the development of new transport corridors.
Meanwhile, the number of applications for cargo transportation to Uzbekistan from January through June 2023 increased by 77 percent compared to the same period last year, while demand for transportation from Russia increased by 75 percent.
As per data from the international ATI.SU Freight Exchange service, tariffs for cargo transportation in Uzbekistan increased by 8 percent over the same period.
Earlier this year, Uzbekistan and Germany established a new comprehensive project portfolio covering diverse sectors for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the mining industry, energy, chemistry, electrical engineering, textile industry, and infrastructure.
The total volume of German investments in Uzbekistan over the past two years amounted to almost 2 billion euros.