Central Asia

During a working visit to Tajikistan, Talgat Aldybergenov, Chairman of the Board of Kazakhstan Railways, held talks with Komil Mirzoali, Head of the Tajik Railways. The parties noted the steady growth in freight traffic: by the end of 2025, freight turnover between the countries increased by 15.1%, reaching 5.9 million tons. Export shipments from Kazakhstan increased by 7.6%, reaching 2.6 million tons, with grain, flour, petroleum products, ferrous metals, non-ferrous ores, and vegetable oil remaining the key cargoes.

On February 16, 2026, a working meeting with representatives of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and Expertise France was held at the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route Association office in Astana. The parties discussed prospects for cooperation within the framework of the new European Union program to develop the potential of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, implemented with financial support from European institutions, as well as relevant agencies in Germany and France.

Negotiations between the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan focused on significantly increasing rail freight traffic between the two countries. The parties discussed expanding capacity at key border crossings, which play a key role in regional logistics chains and transit.

The Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan held talks with the head of the transport department of Uzbekistan on expanding transit potential and developing railway cooperation. The meeting was held as part of efforts to increase Kazakhstan’s transit traffic to 55 million tonnes. The parties noted the strategic role of rail traffic between the countries in strengthening trade and economic ties, international transit, and regional transport integration.

On February 16, Yerlan Khamardinovich Koyshibayev, Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, introduced Yerlan Talgatuly Nykhmetov, the new General Director, to the staff of Kuryk Port LLP. The appointment is part of efforts to strengthen the management team and further develop the transport hub’s maritime infrastructure.

KTZ Express organized a pilot export shipment of Kazakhstani broken rice to the Port of Antwerp (Belgium) via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. The shipment was carried out multimodally, using rail infrastructure and shipping lines across the Caspian and Black Seas, enabling the testing of an alternative logistics scheme for deliveries to Europe.

Talgat Aldybergenov, Chairman of the Board of NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, held a working meeting with Kaido Zimmermann, Head of Estonian Railways, during which the parties discussed the current state and prospects of bilateral cooperation in transport and logistics. The focus was on integrating railway networks to more efficiently organize freight flows between Central Asia and European markets.

The Transport and Warehousing section’s asset turnover index reached 105.1% of January 2025. During the month, 87.8 million tonnes of freight were transported (+5.4%), freight turnover amounted to 48.4 billion tonne-km (+5.4%), passenger traffic reached 157.6 million passengers (+10.1%), and passenger turnover amounted to 7.3 billion p-km (+3.1%).

On February 18, the grand opening ceremony of the Ontustik Terminal container complex took place in the industrial zone of Shymkent. The new terminal is designed to simultaneously store up to 3,000 containers and is ready to receive, process, and transship containerized and imported cargo, creating a modern infrastructure for the development of multimodal logistics in southern Kazakhstan.

At an expanded government meeting chaired by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov presented a report on measures to develop the country’s transport and logistics infrastructure and strengthen its transit potential. He stated that by 2026, construction of two railway lines with a total length of 475 km is planned to be completed, as well as the modernization of 2,900 km of track. This will increase transit traffic by 60% and increase the average speed of transit container trains to 50 km/h.