The Port of Aktau will gain a new container hub. China and Kazakhstan agreed to build the port expansion at an investment roundtable on 2 July.
At the roundtable, the two countries worked out a 3,7 billion dollar investment in joint projects. As part of the agreement, Kazakh Railways (KTZ) and Chinese Lianyungang Port Group intend to build a container hub in the Aktau port. According to investment agency Kazakh Invest, the project “aims to improve logistics infrastructure and expand opportunities for transit shipments through Kazakhstan.”
The Port of Aktau is located on the Caspian Sea coast. It is part of both the International North-South Transport Corridor and the Middle Corridor. For that reason, it is a strategically important asset for Kazakhstan, which seeks to become a leading freight transit country.
Moreover, Chinese company CRRC will be supplying 200 new locomotives to KTZ as part of the investment.
Chinese President Xi Jinping already hinted at both investments at a BRI cooperation forum in October 2023.