Kazakhstan builds its own fleet for the Middle Corridor

Kazakhstan is pressing ahead with the expansion of its transportation and logistics infrastructure along the Middle Corridor. The state railroad company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) is planning to build its own fleet for transportation across the Caspian and Black Seas and to establish a cargo airline. The aim is to establish Kazakhstan as a central logistics and transit hub between China, Central Asia and Europe. Six new cargo ships ordered According to KTZ's press office, the company has signed contracts for the construction of a total of six multi-purpose vessels. Four ships will be built by the Chinese shipyard Jiangsu Haizhongzhou Shipping Industry, while two more will be built at the Baku Shipyard in Baku. The ships will each be able to transport up to 537 standard containers (TEU) and will be deployed both in the Caspian Sea and on routes across the Black Sea. "This initiative will ensure the efficient integration of maritime transportation into the unified logistics chain of the Middle Corridor," explained KTZ. Own cargo airline planned At the same time, KTZ is also working on setting up its own air freight company. Last fall, the subsidiary KTZ Express submitted the documents for the registration of a cargo airline company. A fleet of ten cargo aircraft is planned. The Kazakh authorities originally hoped that the first cargo flight would take off at the beginning of 2026. However, operations have not yet begun. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is pursuing the goal of developing Kazakhstan into a major hub for air freight between Europe and Asia. New investments with China In addition to expanding its transportation infrastructure, Kazakhstan is also intensifying its economic cooperation with China. An investment agreement was signed in Astana for the construction of a grain processing plant in the Akmola region. The project will be implemented together with the company Asia Altyn Dan, which is backed by a consortium of Chinese companies. The investment amounts to around 300 billion tenge, the equivalent of around 640 million US dollars. In addition, Kazakhstan exported a record quantity of almost 2.2 million tons of feed flour to China between September and March of the 2025/26 marketing year - more than twice as much as in the same period last year. Intensified cooperation in the technology sector Cooperation between the two countries is also growing in the technology sector. The Kazakh start-up ApartX has reportedly concluded a white label partnership with a Chinese manufacturer of intelligent access systems. The aim is to enter the German market together. While the Chinese partner supplies intelligent door locks and logistics, ApartX provides software for data protection and digital document management in accordance with German standards. Central Asia intensifies relations with China Other Central Asian states are also expanding their relations with China. Kyrgyzstan once again sent a high-ranking delegation to China, including the energy minister and the president's special envoy. However, concrete results were initially limited. Among other things, a visit by a delegation from the Chinese province of Zhejiang was agreed, in which representatives from Alibaba and Geely are to take part. A high-ranking delegation from Uzbekistan, led by Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, traveled to Hong Kong, where 15 economic agreements were signed. These include agricultural projects worth more than 550 million US dollars and a 1500 megawatt energy storage system in the Samarkand region. Uzbekistan Airways also announced new direct flights to the Chinese coastal city of Guangzhou. China is also involved in Turkmenistan In Turkmenistan, representatives of Chinese telecommunications companies such as Huawei and ZTE held talks with government representatives on the expansion of AI technologies and so-called "smart cities". Turkmenistan is also testing seven Chinese cotton seed varieties on 650 hectares using agricultural technologies from Xinjiang. The post Kazakhstan builds its own fleet for the Middle Corridor appeared first on ostwirtschaft.de.