Astana, 3 November. Samruk-Kazyna and AZCON Holding signed a cooperation agreement on preparing and implementing the “Caspian Bridge” project, the Ministry of Transport reported.
The agreement was signed during a visit by an Azerbaijani delegation to the Ministry of Transport, where Minister Nurlan Sauranbayev met Azerbaijani Ambassador Alimirzamin Askerov and AZCON Holding representative Shahin Babayev. Under the project ferries will extend the railway, and wagons will be carried without reloading. The aim is to carry 8 million tonnes of cargo a year with a guarantee, rising to 10–12 million tonnes.
In addition, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy and Azerbaijan Railways signed a document of main terms (Term Sheet) for a joint intermodal freight terminal in the port of Alyat. The sides also discussed a joint terminal network, industrial cooperation in locomotive and shipbuilding, tariff policy and shorter delivery times to Europe. The ministry noted that relations between the two countries rest on mutual trust and that the shared task is to make the corridor across the Caspian more reliable and efficient.
What it means: The Trans-Caspian route gets a legal basis at company level: an agreement on the ferry “bridge” project and preliminary terms for the terminal in Alyat. Launch dates, cost and number of ferries are not stated.
Who benefits: Rail and port operators in both countries and shippers who want to move goods to Europe across the Caspian without reloading wagons; by the ministry’s estimate this will shorten delivery times. No savings figures are given.
Background: The ministry calls the route the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and, in the headline of its statement, the Middle Corridor; its development and the “Caspian Bridge” project were the main topics of the meeting.
