Kazakhstan's Aktau, Kuryk ports could see $618 mln investment by 2030

ASTANA. Feb 26 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's Transport Ministry is working on a comprehensive plan for the development of maritime infrastructure until 2030, where $618 million is to be invested in the ports of Aktau and Kuryk, its press service reported.

"As part of the development of the merchant fleet, this year we are studying the possibility of building our own shipyard on the Caspian coast. There is a need for the construction of 10 new ships, including three tankers, three dry cargo ships and four universal ferries," the Transport Minister Marat Karabayev was quoted as saying.

"In 2024, dredging of the water area of the port of Kuryk will be carried out, and in 2025, similar work is planned in Aktau. As part of increasing capacity, it is planned to modernize the berth infrastructure of the port of Aktau and build three new terminals in Kuryk.

In addition, together with the Lianyungang Port companies, construction of a container hub will begin in the seaport of Aktau, to increase the capacity of container transportation to 300,000 twenty-foot equivalent units.

The ministry also intends to create a multimodal transit corridor Russia - Kazakhstan - China using the transboundary Irtysh River. The ministry believes that this will allow to connect neighboring states through new transport links. To resolve the issue with shallow depths, consultations are held with research institutes.

Along with this, it is planned to build a river port in the area of Tugyl village and lay a railway to the border with China on the Tugyl - Maykapchagai 99 km long section. The expected volume of transportation along this route is 2.5 million tonnes. The project also provides for the possibility of access to the northern seas of Russia through the Ob-Irtysh basin.

The Transport Ministry is also thinking about restoring export traffic through the Ural-Caspian Canal.

"This year we plan to begin dredging work on the offshore part of the canal, and subsequently purchase our own offshore dredger to maintain its navigable parameters. In the next two years, we plan to restore the navigable parameters of the Ural-Caspian Canal. The potential volume of transportation will be 1 million tonnes. Also there is the potential to resume bilateral river transportation of goods between Atyrau and the city of Astrakhan," Karabayev said.