KAZAKHSTAN: Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov has formally launched the construction of a third cross-border railway link to China.
The 272 km double-track line from Ayagoz to Bakhty and a new border crossing near Tacheng in northern Xinjiang is scheduled to open in 2027. It would connect end-on with China’s Karamay – Tacheng railway inaugurated in 2019.
The third connection is intended increase the total capacity for rail freight moving between the two countries from 28 million to about 48 million tonnes/year, relieving the existing border crossing points at Druzhba and Khorgas and attracting additional transit flows.
The project is being carried out through a public-private partnership with an unspecified private investor at an estimated cost of 321bn tenge. It will have at least 85% domestic content, including the rail and more than 500 000 sleepers.
‘Existing transit corridors are being expanded and new ones are opening’, Smailov explained. ‘The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, North-South and Southern Corridors have become particularly relevant. Implementation of the Bakhty – Ayagoz project will also accelerate the integration of Kazakhstan’s railway network into the global transport system.’
