At the end of July, the first container vessel Enforcer docked at the Baltic hub of the Port of Gdansk as part of the new Scandinavia West Coast Express (SWX) service connecting Poland with Denmark, Sweden and Lithuania. The weekly route, which includes the ports of Gothenburg, Aarhus, Klaipeda and Gdansk, is designed to improve the efficiency of shipping and become an environmentally friendly alternative to road transport.
Chairman of the Board of JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) Talgat Aldybergenov reported on the implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects at a government meeting. In particular, the construction of the 360 km long Moiynty-Kyzylzhar line has begun, and in July a contract was signed for the construction of the 272 km long Bakhty-Ayagoz line.
Aviator Airport Alliance, part of the Avia Solutions Group and operating at 15 airports in Northern Europe, has extended its contract with Wizz Air for another three years. As part of the agreement, the company will continue to provide passenger handling, ramp handling and de-icing services at three airports – Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Malmö.
Alstom has signed a contract in Romania for the modernization of the historic Bucharest-Giurgiu railway line, opened in 1869. The total value of the project is approximately €450 million, with Alstom’s share being approximately 25%. The project aims to increase capacity, energy efficiency and reliability of the connection.
NAFITH International Group and Kuryk Port Development (Kazakhstan) signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at developing digital solutions for road transport within the Middle Corridor. The signing took place during the visit of King Abdullah II of Jordan to Kazakhstan.
At a government meeting, Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev reported that transport and infrastructure startups are actively developing in Astana Hub. By the end of 2024, their total income exceeded 4.5 billion tenge, and the number of jobs created exceeded 400.
The global market for highly automated smart ports will increase from $2.53 billion in 2025 to $7.95 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 25.8%. According to MarketsandMarkets, the growth is driven by the growth of international trade, the need to reduce emissions and port congestion, and the desire of governments and businesses to improve the efficiency and sustainability of logistics.
Despite the difficult geopolitical situation and the slowdown in the economy, the Port of Hamburg showed strong growth in the first half of 2025 and managed to regain market share from Western European competitors. Sea freight turnover increased by 3.6% to 57.8 million tonnes, primarily due to a jump in the container segment: 4.2 million TEU were handled (+9.3%), including imports that increased by 11.6% and exports by 6.9%. Thanks to new liner services, the port has strengthened its role in international maritime logistics, especially in the directions of Asia and the Baltic Sea.
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) will provide a grant of US$275,000 to prepare a preliminary feasibility study for the construction of the Balikchi-Cholpon-Ata railway line in the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan. The funds will be allocated from the bank’s technical assistance fund.
LTG Cargo’s subsidiary in Ukraine has announced a change in its business model: from September, it will specialize in leasing wagons and locomotives instead of freight forwarding services. LTG Cargo Ukraine already has about 500 Lithuanian wagons at its disposal, which will be effectively used by Ukrainian clients. According to LTG Cargo CEO Egle Šime, railways remain a key supply line for the country during the war, and in the future, the company intends to contribute to the restoration of Ukrainian infrastructure.
