Eurasian logistics - The Times Of Central Asia

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Logistics

Kazakhstan’s Warehouse Market Faces Mismatch Between Supply and Demand

Central Asia is seeking a larger role in trade between China and Europe by offering alternative shipping routes that bypass Russia. However, growing interest in transit has not been matched by balanced development of warehouse infrastructure. Some transport hubs face shortages of modern facilities, while others have vacant space. For international freight operators and retailers, this means additional costs. For investors, it raises the risk of financing warehouses that may struggle to attract tenants. These contradictions were discussed on October 15 in Almaty at the Central Asia Warehouse Summit 2026, organized by consulting firm IBC Global. The summit brought together industry representatives and investors. Research presented at the event showed a growing disconnect between warehouse construction and actual demand. Vacant Warehouses Exist, but Not Where They Are Needed According to IBC Global, the vacancy rate for modern warehouse space in Kazakhstan is about 5%. This gives tenants more options when choosing facilities and negotiating rents. However, the national figure masks significant differences between cities and types of warehouse space. Industry estimates put Astana's shortage of modern warehouse space at approximately 350,000–400,000 square meters. Separately, property consultancy Bright Rich reported that Almaty's warehouse vacancy rate had reached 13.3% in May 2026. These estimates come from different periods and surveys, and should not be treated as directly comparable. Class A warehouses are modern facilities with high ceilings, loading docks, security systems, and infrastructure designed to handle large volumes of goods. Kazakhstan's warehouse market is nevertheless expanding rapidly. According to an IBC Global ranking presented at the summit, the total area of Class A warehouses covered by its research increased by 39% over the past year to 730,000 square meters. More than half of that space, approximately 400,000 square meters, is controlled by the five largest property owners. Their facilities are concentrated mainly in Almaty and Almaty Region, Astana, and Shymkent. Developers Continue Building Despite Weaker Demand A survey of more than 100 warehouse market participants across four Central Asian countries revealed a gap between developers' plans and tenants' expectations. According to IBC Global, 81% of developers intend to launch new projects or complete facilities already under construction within the next twelve months. Yet 62% of developers surveyed identified weak tenant demand as the main obstacle to market development, while 52% cited the high cost and limited availability of financing. IBC Global's market sentiment index for Kazakhstan stood at 48.1 points in the third quarter of 2026, below the neutral threshold of 50. However, 52% of respondents expect supply and demand to move closer to equilibrium over the next year. The risks are particularly high for speculative developments launched without a tenant already under contract. Developers expect to secure customers after construction is completed, but by then business requirements and market rental rates may have changed. One alternative is the build-to-suit model, in which a facility is constructed to meet the requirements of a specific tenant. Its location, size, equipment, and operating conditions are agreed upon in advance. This reduces vacancy risk for...

Driverless Freight

Kazakhstan and Russia Launch Driverless Freight Transport Route

Kazakhstan and Russia have launched a pilot project for driverless freight transportation between the two countries, marking a new stage in the digitalization of Eurasian logistics and cross-border transport infrastructure. Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the launch during a press conference following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Commenting on the results of the negotiations, Tokayev said that transport connectivity plays a crucial role for both neighboring countries in delivering goods to domestic and international markets. He added that Kazakhstan and Russia are actively developing transcontinental transport corridors along both the North-South and East-West routes as part of wider efforts to strengthen Eurasian connectivity. “It is encouraging that systematic measures are being taken to optimize tariffs, simplify administrative procedures, and modernize border infrastructure, resulting in steady growth in cargo transportation volumes,” Tokayev said. He also said that freight volumes between the two countries reached approximately 92 million tons last year, an increase of nearly 3.5%. “We plan to continue increasing these indicators, including through the introduction of advanced digital solutions and artificial intelligence technologies. A clear example is today’s launch of driverless freight vehicles between our countries,” Tokayev added. Speaking on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum, Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Transport Damir Kozhakhmetov told the Russian news agency TASS that the first test routes are operating between Astana and Moscow. “As part of cooperation between our two countries, we are integrating our digital solutions in order to move from traditional systems into a new era of autonomous transportation,” Kozhakhmetov said. “Two trucks departed simultaneously from Moscow and Astana and crossed the border checkpoint. This demonstrated that we are already infrastructurally prepared to move to a new level of cooperation,” he added. Earlier, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Transport Nurlan Sauranbayev said Russia and Kazakhstan were prepared to establish permanent driverless freight routes as early as this year. Tokayev said the innovative transport initiative reflects the broader quality of bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Russia. “In conditions of continuing turbulence in global politics, stable and predictable models of interstate partnership acquire special value,” the president said. “Relations between Kazakhstan and Russia have stood the test of time and are now successfully responding to the challenges of a new era.” According to Tokayev, bilateral cooperation is based on large-scale projects that provide practical benefits for both countries, while stable trade and economic ties continue to support growth across key sectors of their economies. He noted that bilateral trade turnover in the agricultural sector alone has increased by approximately $1 billion over the past five years. Investment cooperation has also continued to expand. Tokayev said Russia has become the largest source of foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan, with total Russian investments exceeding $29 billion. “At the same time, Kazakh investments in the Russian economy have reached $9 billion, which is also a strong indicator,” Tokayev said. According to the president, more than 20,000 companies with Russian participation currently operate in Kazakhstan. Tokayev also highlighted energy cooperation as another example of successful bilateral partnership,...

Organization of Turkic States

Opinion: Turkey’s Third Vector: How the Turkic States Are Expanding Central Asia’s Room for Maneuver

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s May 13-14 state visit to Kazakhstan and the May 15 informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Turkistan should not be read as isolated diplomatic events. Together, they point to a larger shift in Central Asia’s geopolitical architecture. During Erdoğan’s visit to Astana, Kazakhstan and Turkey signed the Declaration on Eternal Friendship and Expanded Strategic Partnership, along with agreements covering trade, transport, energy, education, investment, defense cooperation, oil and gas, and financial-sector collaboration. The two sides also reaffirmed their goal of raising bilateral trade to $15 billion. Erdoğan was awarded the newly established Khoja Ahmed Yassawi Order, a symbolic gesture tied to the summit being hosted in Turkistan, the city most closely associated with Yassawi’s legacy. A day later, Turkistan hosted the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States under the theme “Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development.” The timing matters. Central Asia is no longer operating inside a simple Russia-China framework. Russia remains deeply embedded in the region through security history, infrastructure, language, labor migration, and energy networks. China remains the region’s main infrastructure and trade heavyweight. The West is increasingly focused on sanctions, critical minerals, connectivity, and the Middle Corridor. But Turkey is becoming something different: not a replacement for Russia or China, but a useful third vector. Its influence is built on identity, logistics, defense technology, education, digital cooperation, and institutional networking through the Turkic States framework, rather than overwhelming capital or military dominance. Turkey as a Corridor Power Turkey cannot match China’s investment scale in Central Asia. It also cannot match Russia’s historical security depth. Ankara does not need to replace either power to matter. Its comparative advantage is different. Turkey connects Central Asia westward, to the South Caucasus, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and Europe. It also offers a language of partnership that is culturally familiar and politically less threatening than great-power patronage. Tokayev captured this dimension during the joint statements in Astana, describing Turkey as a “golden bridge” connecting Europe and Asia. The framing is telling: not a partner of equal weight, but a connector, exactly the function of a corridor power. A corridor power does not dominate a region directly. It expands the routes, partnerships, platforms, and strategic options available to states that do not want to be trapped between larger powers. That is why the Erdoğan-Tokayev meeting and the Turkistan summit matter. The issue goes beyond bilateral trade. It is the gradual construction of a Turkic corridor linking identity, transport, defense, digital governance, and markets. The OTS as Identity Infrastructure The Organization of Turkic States is often dismissed as symbolic: summits, speeches, flags, cultural rhetoric, and references to shared history. That reading is incomplete. Identity is not just emotion. In international politics, identity can become infrastructure. Shared language, educational networks, media links, cultural affinity, and repeated institutional contact reduce the cost of trust-building. They make it easier to sign agreements, build transport projects, expand student exchanges, coordinate business forums, and create political habits of consultation. The...