Kazajstán

 Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world, and transportation and logistics naturally become a hot topic. Kazakhstan is roughly the size of continental Europe. That means your business community is constantly on the lookout for expert shipping players to transport vital goods across the country.

Kazakhstan's economy is highly dependent on exports of raw materials and imports of machinery and equipment for industrial needs. Therefore, the transportation industry plays an important role in the successful economic development of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan's transport and logistics sector is undergoing a quiet transformation across the country. A lot of cash is being pumped into the industry, under the influence of some of its larger neighborhoods.

Kazakhstan's booming logistics sector

Establishing a more competitive and efficient transportation industry is one of the main development goals of the government of Kazakhstan. There are state programs to boost the industry, but Kazakhstan requires international cooperation and experience to really get off the ground.

That said, transportation and logistics in Kazakhstan are growing. Total cargo turnover from tonne to kilometer stood at 514.7 tonnes / km in 2016, a 0.9% increase from 2015 levels. Since 2007, where total cargo baggage in all modes of transportation other than pipelines amounted to 2.12 billion tons, total loads have reached 3.72 billion.

Kazakhstan connects continents

If you are looking to move cargo through Central Asia, the CIS countries or into Asia proper, Kazakhstan is the ideal base. It borders five nations, sits on the Caspian Sea, and is traversed by a large number of major international transport corridors.

Kazakhstan is flanked on two sides by Russia and China. Sandwiched between these two giants and their important consumer cultures and massive economies, lies a competitive advantage for Kazakhstan. Elsewhere, it borders Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, ensuring connections to Central Asia and beyond are top-notch.

These multimodal routes have shaped Kazakhstan's transportation infrastructure, but allow goods to travel to the farthest reaches of Russia from the easternmost cities of China. The corridors dividing Kazakhstan include:

• North Corridor of the Trans-Asian Main Railway (TARM) - Western Europe - China, Korean Peninsula and Japan via Russia and Kazakhstan (Dostyk - Akogai - Sayak - Mointy - Astana - Petropavlovsk section)

• TARM South Corridor - China and Southeast Asia through Turkey, Iran, Central Asian states and Kazakhstan (Dostyk - Aktogai - Almaty - Shu - Arys - Saryagash Section)

• TRACEA - Eastern Europe - Central Asia via the Black Sea, the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea (section Dostyk - Almaty - Aktau)

• North-South transport corridor - Gulf States through Russia and Iran, through Kazakhstan (Aktau - Urals and Aktau - Atyrau sections)

China's One Belt One Road project, a modern equivalent of the Silk Road, is poised to traverse Central Asia with Kazakhstan firmly in place as the belt's 'buckle'. Not only does this mean billions in logistics expenses, road and rail links and logistics hubs, it also means faster transit times at lower cost.

Transportation infrastructure gets a cash boost in Kazakhstan

The transportation infrastructure is getting a huge cash injection. $ 27 billion is being spent on building new roads and highways, building ports, investing in the aviation industry, and developing rail freight.

The Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) recently opened the Khorgos Gateway, the world's largest dry port, on the border with China. This $ 357 million logistics center is for capturing Chinese shipments on their way through Asia to Europe. At its peak, Khorgos is expected to handle 200,000 containers a year. Even so, Khorgos Gateway is only a small portion of the total planned investment plan of $ 36.3 billion KTZ to improve connectivity with China over the next five years.

Elsewhere along the Caspian coast we find a number of port improvements or new construction projects. Aktau, Kazakhstan's only major royal maritime hub, is receiving a billion-dollar raise courtesy of DP World of Dubai.

Kazakhstan has also been building the Kuryk freight terminal. Kuryk is expected to handle 35% of the nation's maritime trade and will also give Kazakhstan two major ports on the Caspian Sea.

International rail transport 

Rail transport plays a prominent role in EATL and especially in the intermodal services sector. For the development of intermodal transport, railways must: x Cooperate widely with freight forwarders, operators, terminals, transport companies and logistics providers; x Offer competitive rates and be able to adjust them according to the market situation; x Be flexible in choosing routes and schedules; and x Cooperate internationally to provide long distance services. In international traffic, Kazakhstan's rail transport specializes in the transportation of bulk cargoes such as minerals, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, oil, coal, cereals and cereal products, which account for more than 80% of the total volume of goods transported. . The East-West and North-South transportation routes have become more competitive in the transportation services market. The main competitors of Kazakhstan's railway routes in Eurasian transport are sea carriers, which offer more attractive conditions (especially with regard to fares), as well as Russian railways. The Russian Federation is intensively improving its international transport corridors, especially in the Trans-Siberian direction, both from a technical and an organizational point of view. Competition became even more acute after the commissioning of the Trans-Korean Railway in 2011, reducing the time for transporting Eurasian freight.

Kazakhstan's position, situated between the main trading partners China, the Russian Federation and the countries of the European Union, is essential for the development of the country's transport and logistics system. According to experts' forecasts, by 2020 the volume of trade between China and the European Union will increase to US $ 1 trillion, and the total merchandise turnover will be about 170 million tonnes or about 17 million TEU.