00:30Highlighting business and economic developments in Kazakhstan and the wider Central Asia region, connecting with Europe and beyond.
00:37Spanning 4,250 kilometers of rail and 500 kilometers of maritime links across the Caspian,
00:44the middle corridor connects China to Europe via Kazakhstan, the South Caucasus, and Turkey.
00:50The EU wants to turn the Trans-Caspian route into a fast modern trade corridor, cutting transit time to 15 days.
00:57But bottlenecks remain. A 2023 study led by the European Commission and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
01:04identified 33 critical infrastructure upgrades and seven soft connectivity reforms that could transform the corridor's efficiency.
01:12If fully developed, the middle corridor could carry 470,000 containers annually by 2040, according to the EBRD.
01:20Kazakhstan, the world's largest landlocked country, is key.
01:24The government is expanding rail links to double speeds and multiply cargo capacity fivefold.
01:30Cargo volumes through Kazakhstan jumped from 800,000 tons in 2021 to 4.5 million last year, with the goal of reaching 10 million tons by 2028.
01:41Joining us now to discuss the developments along the China-Europe route is Sajan Uzbekow,
01:46Deputy Director of the Transport Policy Department at Kazakhstan's Ministry of Transport.
01:52Mr. Uzbekow, welcome to the program.
01:54How much investment has gone into railroad and maritime infrastructure, and how is it helping improve the middle corridor's capacity?
02:03牛.
02:03The current operation is project for modernization port.
02:08In the past year, two weeks ago, was made in export a container hub with a technical company on a port Ahtau-Baba.
02:17We are finishing construction of the terminal terminal port in a port Ahtau-Baba.
02:21We are also making modernization of rail-leneness systems, which are in the middle corridor.
02:28The total cost is about 4 billion dollars.
02:32What specific steps is Kazakhstan taking to address the current bottlenecks?
03:02So talk to us about Kazakhstan's throughput capacity via the Caspian Sea. What potential do you see there?
03:32Mr. Uzbekow, thanks for being with us today.
03:52And you, thank you very much.
03:54Kazakhstan and Bulgaria are also aligning strategies, planning to link the ports of Burgas and Varna to the middle corridor.
04:02Meanwhile, Kazakhstan has opened a new logistics terminal in Georgia's Black Sea port of Poti, a joint project with local and Azerbaijani partners.
04:10With a processing capacity of up to 200,000 containers, it's a key connection to the Black Sea.
04:15Kazakhstan is also expanding its own port infrastructure. Let's take a closer look.
04:22Aktau is now home to the largest container hub on the Caspian Sea.
04:25Its capacity could reach 240,000 standard containers per year, helping meet growing cargo demand between Europe and China.
04:33The container hub in Aktau will be equipped with more advanced technologies.
04:38We'll be using a terminal operating system that will enhance the efficiency of the hub.
04:43The latest technologies like RMG crane, the latest ZPMC model that will be more efficient in terms of handling and loading and unloading the cargo coming from China to Caspian Sea.
04:58KJZ Express, a subsidiary of Kazakhstan Railways, is leading the project as multi-modal operator of the Trans-Caspian Route, providing rail links, port infrastructure and digital solutions.
05:08We have launched the project called TESS Customs.
05:12It helps the cargo to get the clearance at the customs when the cargo arrives to the border stations.
05:19And we decrease the time from 8 hours to 30 minutes.
05:24The company now plans to expand further with new terminals in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Hungary, completing the logistics chain and simplifying access to European markets.
05:32A core EU focus is digitization to streamline border checks, customs and logistics.
05:39Digital freight documents, tracking systems and improved data exchange are all in the works.
05:45Here to speak to us about the attractiveness for business of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor is Gajdar Avdikarimov, expert consultant on transport corridors at the Asian Development Bank.
05:55He's also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.
06:01Mr. Avdikarimov, welcome. Great to have you with us.
06:04Good morning. Thank you for inviting us.
06:06At full operational efficiency, how economically attractive could the Trans-Caspian transport network become?
06:12The digitalization of this route will improve the speed of service, the service of the global DTC company.
06:18For example, we have a global DTC company that introduced the configuration between the Chinese and Kazakhstan borders.
06:25They were together with Kazakhstan, KTJ Express, the KTJ Express, the national income committee improved the process.
06:32From 4 hours to 20 minutes, they started the process of the configuration of one container with a container.
06:39How are you helping simplify the cross-border formalities and how will that help with the regional coordination across the Central Asian States?
06:45As you know, on the Trans-Caspian transport network, there are several transport rights.
06:51When the transport rights are paralleled and connected, we lose a lot of time.
06:59For the harmonization of this process, we need a digitization.
07:03And, of course, from the right field, we need to provide a single indicator.
07:10And today, this is also a work that is started.
07:13And it is carried out by various institutions of development, such as the Asian Bank of Development.
07:18Going forward, how do you envision the regional connectivity of the region that is bound by the Trans-Caspian Route?
07:24Thank you so much for your perspective today.
07:26Thank you.
07:27Thank you.
07:28Bye for now and join us next time on East-West Connect.
