Kazakhstan to construct cargo terminal in Azerbaijan

Kazakhstan Railway (Kazakhstan Temir Zholy) will participate in the construction of a new multimodal cargo terminal at the Port of Alat in Azerbaijan, according to a statement from the company’s press service.

The agreement was signed at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku. There are several companies which are going to participate in the project: the joint Kazakhstan-Azerbaijani SK-AIH Investment Fund Ltd. (owned by the Kazakhstani Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund and Azerbaijan Investment Holding), Kazakhstan Railway, the Port of Baku (Azerbaijan) and Xi’an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co., Ltd. (China).

«The project will increase the number of container trains on the China-Europe-China route via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, reducing delivery time, transportation costs and transshipment deadlines,» the statement read.

The new terminal will feature a general board sling, a 5,000-square-meter indoor warehouse, and a container yard with a capacity for over 1,000 containers.

According to Kazakhstan Railway, Azerbaijan has already provided a plot of land for the project, along with active berths and terminal facilities at the Port of Alat. 

At the beginning of the year, a Kazakhstani-Chinese cargo terminal was established in Xi’an (a project by Kazakhstan Railway), which connected the Shaanxi region with Kazakhstan, Central Asia and Europe.