Kazakh railways and large Chinese companies agree to develop container transportation through Kazakhstan

The delegation of KTZh during the visit to China held a number of bilateral meetings with the management of transport and logistics platforms in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Urumqi on the development of cooperation in the transport and logistics field.

According to the press service of KTZh, during a meeting with the chairman of the board of Urumqi Railway, Zhang Haitao, the results of international freight traffic for the 11 months of 2018 were summed up and plans for 2019 were discussed.

Negotiations were held with the leaders of the Chinese logistics platforms of Xian, Suzhou, Yiwu cities. The parties discussed the current state and prospects of cooperation in the development of container traffic along the China-Europe-China transit route through Kazakhstan. In addition, agreements were reached on increasing the volume of cargo transportation and the development of logistics supply chains and services on routes between China and the countries of Europe, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Russia, as well as the countries participating in the Trans-Caspian corridor.

During the visit, the Kazakh delegation also met with the Deputy General Director of COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited Sui Jun and Lianyungang Port President Zhu Xianyan, who are members of the dry port of the Khorgos-Eastern Gate FEZ. The parties noted the successful development of the dry port project, which has now become part of the global logistics services architecture and ensuring the integration of Kazakhstan's transit corridors into an international logistics network, and also outlined plans for joint logistics and investment cooperation.

“Our partnership will allow us to expand the geography of traffic in the direction of Turkey, the Caucasus, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and provide control over transcontinental transit traffic at the expense of levers of geographical presence and influence on tariffs,” Sanzhar Elyubayev, the Deputy Chairman of the Board of KTZh, said.

Following the negotiations, a number of Agreements on the organisation and development of container traffic were signed with the management of major logistics companies in China.

For 10 months of this year, the volume of transit traffic through Kazakhstan amounted to 14.6 million tonnes of cargo, of which the volume of cargo transportation from/to China amounted to 11.5 million tonnes, which is 36% more than the same period last year.

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