Logistics - The Times Of Central Asia

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Logistics

Kazakhstan Begins Construction of Major International Logistics Hub in Kostanay

Kazakhstan has officially begun construction of a major transport and logistics complex in the northern city of Kostanay, aiming to establish a critical transit hub linking China, Central Asia, and Europe. The new “Tobyl” Logistics Hub is set to enhance the country's role in regional and global supply chains. Designed to integrate into international transport corridors, including routes to China, Central Asia, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Europe, the facility is scheduled to be operational by 2027. It is expected to significantly boost transit capacity along the “Northern Kazakhstan, Southern Urals” corridor and facilitate freight movement toward the People's Republic of China. In the first half of 2025, Kazakhstan’s transit freight volume reached 16.8 million tons, marking a 4% year-on-year increase. Strategic Investment for Economic Growth “The complex will reduce logistics costs for businesses, support export-oriented manufacturing, attract investment into processing industries, and stimulate the creation of new industrial enterprises,” said Aydyn Alimov, Director of the new logistics center. “We believe Tobyl will become a business magnet and a driver of regional industrial growth.” The hub will feature advanced infrastructure, including terminals, warehouses, customs clearance facilities, IT zones, and service areas operating under a “one-stop-shop” model. A digital cargo tracking system will provide real-time logistics monitoring. The project is being developed with the participation of JSC Kedentransservice, Kazakhstan’s largest logistics operator, and is backed by the state-owned Industrial Development Fund. Covering an area of 133.6 hectares, the Tobyl complex represents an investment of 64 billion KZT (approximately $122 million). It is designed to process up to 400,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), or more than 11 million tons of cargo annually, and will create 500 new jobs in logistics, IT, and service sectors. A Catalyst for Regional and National Development “We are not just building a logistics hub, we are laying the foundation for a new economic geography,” said Deputy Prime Minister Yermek Kosherbayev at the groundbreaking ceremony. “Tobyl will become an intellectual platform where logistics, digitalization, education, and industry converge. This is not just a regional but a national project, a catalyst for growth across the country.” According to the government, the Tobyl hub will also promote sustainable exports from the Kostanay region and foster deeper industrial cooperation within the Eurasian space. Kostanay is already Kazakhstan’s leading automotive manufacturing hub. In 2024, local automaker Allur produced 90,515 vehicles, comprising passenger cars, trucks, and buses, out of a national total of 134,000. In 2025, a new KIA plant with an annual capacity of 70,000 vehicles is expected to launch, along with facilities for producing automotive components and spare parts. Earlier this month, Kazakhstan and China signed an updated strategic agreement to strengthen railway links and increase cargo throughput along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor.

Logistics

Kazakhstan Faces Potential Logistics Disruptions Amid Iran-Israel Conflict

Kazakhstan’s Minister of National Economy, Serik Zhumangarin, has warned that the only significant risk to the national economy stemming from the conflict between Iran and Israel is a potential disruption to southern logistics routes. “We are closely monitoring developments in the Middle East and hope for a peaceful resolution. In terms of losses, we primarily export food to Iran, and we do not expect these events to affect that trade. The population there still needs to be fed. Our main concern is logistics. The only railway line heading south runs through Iran,” Zhumangarin told reporters on the sidelines of a Senate meeting. The route in question is the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran segment of the North-South International Transport Corridor (Zhanaozen-Gyzylgaya-Bereket-Etrek-Gorgan), constructed between 2009 and 2014. The corridor reduces the distance from China to Iran by 500 kilometers when passing through Kazakhstan. However, Zhumangarin noted that Kazakhstan currently transports only a small volume of goods via this route, citing the poor condition of Iran’s railways. Iran’s railway infrastructure adheres to European standards with a track gauge of 1,435 mm, while Kazakhstan’s railcars are designed for a 1,520 mm gauge. Despite this technical discrepancy, Astana had been seeking to expand freight operations along this corridor. In February 2025, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Tehran, Ontalap Onalbayev, met with Jabbar Ali Zakaria, head of the Iranian Railway Organization, to discuss plans to increase annual transit freight from 275,000 tons (2024) to 5 million tons. Following the escalation of the Iranian-Israeli conflict, Kazakhstan is now compelled to evaluate alternative logistics routes, Zhumangarin noted. “We have contingency options; we can route shipments through Georgia or use Chinese ports. This adds complexity to logistics, but if long-term consequences arise, we will adapt and support our business community. It’s too early to make firm predictions,” he stated. Kazakhstan’s trade turnover with Iran totaled approximately $350 million in 2024, with trade reaching $120 million in the first five months of 2025. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, in response to recent U.S. airstrikes in Iran, Central Asian nations, including Kazakhstan, have urged all parties to pursue diplomatic solutions and avoid any further escalation.

Central Asia’s Transport Logistics Shift Eastward

At a recent roundtable in Bishkek on economic ties with China, former Kyrgyz Prime Minister and former presidential economic advisor Akylbek Japarov called on Central Asian states to improve coordination on regional transport infrastructure. He noted that Kyrgyz transport companies increasingly view transit through the Chinese city of Kashgar as the most efficient route. Japarov argued that China, given its global stature, should engage with Central Asia as a unified and coordinated region rather than as a collection of separate states. “We are facing both an opportunity and a challenge,” he said. “We must think not in terms of competition between countries, but as a single interconnected system. Only in this way will we achieve sustainable growth and maintain our independence in the new world order.” Eastern Shift: Freight Volumes Rise Through China According to the Kyrgyz Association of International Carriers, a growing volume of freight is now transported through China, and this trend is expected to accelerate following the completion of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. Deputy Chairman of the Association, Igor Golubev, told The Times of Central Asia that private carriers are independently negotiating routes with transit countries across both eastern and western corridors. “We are actively cooperating with neighboring countries, developing new routes, and finalizing logistics. There are some challenges, like visa issues and fuel surcharges, but they are all solvable,” Golubev said. Previously, some carriers established routes through Turkmenbashi to transport goods across the Caspian and Black Seas to Europe. However, a shortage of ferries in Turkmenistan has created a serious bottleneck. In response, the Turkmen government is reportedly exploring the purchase of additional vessels. Western Routes: Costly and Complex Logistics along western routes remain difficult. Sanctions and transit restrictions through Russia, the shortest and most economical path to Europe, have forced freight operators to reroute via the so-called Middle Corridor. This involves ferrying goods across the Black Sea to Georgia, transporting them to Azerbaijan, then shipping them across the Caspian Sea to Aktau (Kazakhstan) or Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan), and continuing overland to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. “This route is very expensive. Waiting for ferries adds to the costs,” Golubev explained. “We rarely use the Black Sea route. European cargo is primarily transported via Turkey, Iran, and the Caspian Sea. These logistics remain expensive and time-consuming.” Exploring Southern Routes: Pakistan and the Push Toward Karachi As Chinese industrial output continues to expand, the country’s existing logistics infrastructure is increasingly strained. Beijing is investing in new railways, expanding route networks, and seeking to streamline carrier operations. Amid high costs and administrative hurdles in western corridors, Kyrgyz carriers are turning to the east and south. Last year, Pakistani transport companies and wholesalers participated in the Kyrgyzstan Logistics Forum. Talks are now underway to secure access to Pakistan’s port of Karachi. “We had planned a joint motor rally with Pakistan, but tensions at the India-Pakistan border forced us to postpone,” Golubev said. A new route is being considered that would pass through China and Iran, bypassing Afghanistan. “Pakistanis are already using Afghan transit...

Infrastructure Development

Kazakhstan Building Five Cross-Border Trade Hubs

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.

Infrastructure Development

Turkmenistan to Build New High-Speed Highway

The private company "Ojar Asia" has signed a contract with the Eurasian representative office of China's Sino Hydro Bureau 12 Co. Ltd., for the parties to jointly build the Serakhs-Mary-Serkhetabat highway in Turkmenistan. This road will have a length of about 450 kilometers. The highway will be an important element of the country's transport infrastructure, and will improve conditions for foreign trade, including the export of Turkmenistan's natural resources. More than $2 billion in investment from Sino Hydro Bureau will finance it, and Ojar Asia will lead the construction. Turkmenistan is developing road infrastructure to improve transportation links and stimulate its economy. Road projects are strategically important as the country plans to integrate the new highways into international East-West and North-South transportation corridors. This helps increase transit transportation and natural resource exports, which are vital in diversifying an economy traditionally dependent on hydrocarbon exports.

Investments Tajikistan Afghanistan Export/Import Economy Logistics Transport and Logistics

Tajikistan Proposes Afghan Border Logistics Zone to Enhance Trade

According to Bakhriddin Sirojiddinzoda, Head of the Tajikistan Export Agency, Tajikistan has plans to establish a large logistics zone on the border with Afghanistan. Based on national interests in using existing production and export opportunities, the aim of the export zone is to increase trade turnover, create a modern infrastructure for transporting goods and products, and regulate transportation costs. Referencing the proposal submitted to the government of Tajikistan for consideration, Sirojiddinzoda stated that the large logistics centre should be established in the neutral zone or near the Pyanj-Sher Khan Bandar border crossing and explained, “Experience shows that drivers need a visa to pay road taxes and other fees in Afghanistan to cross only 500 meters of road when exporting products to Afghanistan." He also stressed that establishing such a centre and developing business was unconnected to the country's official relations with the Taliban, stating: “No country has officially recognized the Taliban government, but their trade cooperation with the country continues. Some have even opened a ‘Trading House’ and a commercial representative office in Kabul. Tajik goods are transported through Afghanistan to Pakistan, and goods are also transported from there to us, the security of which is still ensured by Afghanistan." In the first half of 2024, the volume of sales of Tajikistan's agricultural products to Afghanistan amounted to $82.7 thousand; an 85% increase compared to the same period in 2023 when it barely reached $22.7 thousand. According to the Tajikistan Export Agency, nothing was imported from Afghanistan, and goods leaked into the republic from its territory were in transit from Pakistan and other countries.