WNAM REPORT: Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev unveiled what issues related to transport sector were discussed at a meeting of the prime ministers of Kazakhstan and Russia – Olzhas Bektenov and Mikhail Mishustin.
According to him, the meeting focused on the the issues related to the North-South corridor development.
“This is namely the corridor which we promote jointly. We promote the transit of cargo from Belarus and Russia through Kazakhstan towards Turkmenistan and further,” Karabayev said.
He said special discounts at 50% were provided for transit transportation.
“Besides, we create conditions to enable Russian exporters to use the capacities of the Aktau and Kuryk ports. Of course, one of the issues we have discussed is dredging works in the ports. Similar works are expected to be conducted in Makhachkala,” he highlighted.
Another issue on the meeting agenda was the construction of a new Bakhty-Ayagoz railroad and a new checkpoint on the border with China.
“A big project we promote now is a new, third border railway checkpoint with China… aimed at ensuring transit. The cargo will be shipped between China and Russia through Kazakhstan,” the Minister said.
He said that modernization works will start this year at six border checkpoints, which will let double their throughput capacity.
In his words, the sides discussed the synchronization of this work, that the checkpoints are modernized simultaneously, both in the territory of Kazakhstan, and in the territory of Russia. The parties also discussed the mechanism of the border checkpoints’ operation, not to close them in this period.
The Chairman of the Russian Government, Mikhail Mishustin, arrived in Astana for a working visit to participate in a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council and Digital Almaty Forum.
