Kazakh president suggests building North-South corridor alongside Trans-Caspian route

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev has said that the North-South transport corridor should be developed in conjunction with the Trans-Caspian route.

He made the remarks on May 25 during the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, TASS reports.

"I am sure that our economic union will eventually become a link between Europe and Asia, the global South and the North. We welcome the Russian Federation's intention to form corridors in the direction of China, India, Pakistan, Iran, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. I think that the understanding of the need to develop the North-South transport corridor in conjunction with the Trans-Caspian route has matured," he said.

According to Tokayev, Kazakhstan will serve as a reliable logistical hub of the Eurasian Economic Union and will use all its capabilities and resources in this regard.

Tokayev also suggested launching high-speed freight trains within the North-South corridor.

"As substantive initiatives, we suggest launching high-speed freight trains along the Chelyabinsk - Bolashak - Iran railway. For this purpose, it is possible to use the existing infrastructure of the North-South transport corridor with the creation of a freight consolidation centre in Chelyabinsk," Tokayev said.

According to him, Kazakhstan will act as a reliable logistic hub for the Eurasian Economic Union, using all its capabilities and resources. Kazakhstan is ready to reconstruct bottlenecks in its rail and road network to increase cargo traffic, Tokayev added.