A new multimodal rail + road transport route has officially opened between Beijing and Almaty. The first container train carrying furniture, auto parts, and other goods departed the Fangshan International Dry Port for Tacheng (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region), from where some of the cargo will be transported by road to Kazakhstan via the Bakhty border crossing.
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has published its first macroeconomic study covering the six Gulf countries for the period 2020–2024. The analysis reflects the region’s growing role as a key energy and financial hub, as well as a new strategic partner for the countries of the Eurasian region. Over the past five years, trade turnover between Central Asia and the Gulf countries has grown 4.2-fold to $3.3 billion, while direct investment has almost doubled to $16.2 billion.
The signatories call for immediate political engagement to tackle these points and signal readiness for dialogue with decision-makers.
LTG Cargo, a rail freight company within LTG Group, has launched a pilot project using a specially trained robotic dog equipped with artificial intelligence. The robot will autonomously inspect trains and use cameras to identify defects in railcar components, analyzing the condition of bogies, axleboxes, brakes, and automatic coupling devices.
German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd announced the completion of a three-year construction program for the Hamburg Express series of container ships, comprising 12 vessels with a capacity of 23,660 TEU. Each vessel is equipped with modern dual-fuel engines running on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biomethane, which will reduce CO₂ emissions on its Asia-Europe service by up to 25%.
At the 28th Kazakhstan International Transport and Logistics Exhibition – TransLogistica Kazakhstan 2025, the international transport and logistics group AsstrA and JSC KazAzot signed a memorandum of cooperation. The document formalizes the agreement on cooperation in the field of logistics support for the strategic project to construct and modernize KazAzot’s ammonia-urea complex.
DB Cargo Full Load Solutions (FLS) has strengthened its position in the European market by adding 200 new trailers to its fleet, 100 of which are innovative MEGA trailers. The new trailers significantly increase capacity and transport safety, while reducing costs and CO₂ emissions. Each MEGA trailer provides approximately 100 cubic meters of loading volume and a body height of up to three meters, while a lifting roof facilitates the transport of oversized cargo.
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) announced that over $52 billion will be invested in the development of Central Asian transport corridors by 2035. According to Evgeny Vinokurov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Economist of the EDB, a significant portion of the investment is being directed toward developing routes along the North-South axis, including the International North-South Transport Corridor and the Trans-Afghan Corridor, which open up new trade opportunities with the Persian Gulf countries and South Asia.
In the first nine months of 2025, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges handled 202.6 million tonnes of seaborne cargo, a 3.8% decrease compared to the same period last year. Dry and liquid bulk cargo accounted for the main decline (-12.8%), while total cargo throughput, including containers, RoRo, and general cargo, increased by 1.3%. After a robust first half of the year, container volumes began to decline in August due to the end of the transition period for old shipping alliances. Nevertheless, container traffic demonstrated moderate growth over the first nine months: tonnage increased by 1.1%, and TEU by 1.6%.
