Kazakhstan and China are planning to put three terminals into operation later this year. The plans concern the Almaty GTS-2 logistics complex, the Selyatino terminal near Moscow and a terminal in the port of Alyat in Azerbaijan. Kazakh Railways (KTZ) is currently making a major effort to open terminals in various places.
In all three cases, Kazakh Railways is cooperating with Xi’an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation to develop the terminals. The company has a major presence in the Chinese city, where it has been operating a terminal since February 2024.
Earlier, it became clear that KTZ’s Xi’an terminal has helped boost westbound China – Europe traffic significantly. In June 2024, it was reported that container traffic had grown by 70 per cent since the opening, and the number of container trains had increased ninefold.
KTZ is now adding to that list: “In 2024, more than 5,000 trains were sent from the Xi’an Dry Port in the China – Europe direction, which is 25 per cent of all shipments on this route and is a historical record”, the rail operator says.
East – West network
“Thanks to the work of the joint cargo terminal in Xi’an, as a key hub on the TITR [Middle Corridor] route, the volume of transportation last year increased by 33 times”, the company adds. “In partnership with the Xi’an Dry Port, a number of international logistics projects are being implemented, the total investment in which exceeds 200 million US dollars.” Among those projects are also a terminal in Budapest and at the Svisloch station in Belarus. Those are planned for opening in 2026.
“An integrated approach and dynamic implementation of projects will allow in 2026 to form a full-fledged network of terminals in the East – West direction, which will be an important step in the development of the country’s transit and transport potential”, KTZ says. Besides terminal investments, the rail operator is also cooperating with the Chinese Lianyungang Port Group to invest in the Aktau port, which is key to China – Europe traffic along the Middle Corridor.