Kazakhstan is advancing plans to establish five cross-border trade and economic hubs, aiming to position the country as a key global transport and logistics center. The initiative was reviewed at a government meeting on December 10.
Strategic Hub Development
Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliyev reported that significant progress has been made on the hubs, with rail and road links already in place. The planned hubs are:
- The Khorgos Hub: Located on the border with China.
- The Caspian Hub: Situated along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR).
- The Eurasia Center for Cross-Border Trade: Positioned at the border with Russia.
- The “Central Asia” International Center for Industrial Cooperation: At the border with Uzbekistan.
- The Industrial Trade and Logistics Complex: At the border with Kyrgyzstan.
Additionally, container hubs are planned for the ports of Aktau and Kuryk in the Mangistau region. Multimodal air hubs are also under development at airports in the cities of Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, and Aktobe.
Broader Economic Goals
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov underscored the strategic importance of these projects, emphasizing their potential to reduce transit times, boost industrial production, increase tax revenues, and create new jobs.
Bektenov highlighted that the network of hubs will form a unified trade and transport space with Kazakhstan’s key trading partners. “This will significantly increase trade turnover between the countries and strengthen strategic relations with neighboring states,” he said.
The prime minister also stressed the importance of leveraging major transport corridors such as the East-West, North-South, and Trans-Caspian International Transport Route corridors to enhance access to the markets of China, the Persian Gulf, the Caucasus, and Europe.
