Kazakhstan launches construction of new railroad to China

The construction of a new railway line Bakhty - Ayagoz with a length of 272 km started in Kazakhstan’s Abay region. Alikhan Smailov, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, gave an official start to the works in the mode of teleconference.

In general, the railway line Bakhty - Ayagoz will increase the throughput capacity between Kazakhstan and China from 28 to about 48 million tons, unload the southern checkpoints and attract additional volumes of transit. It is planned that the double-track railroad will be put into operation in 2027, Caliber.Az reports citing the official information source of Kazakh Prime Minister.

The large-scale project will be realized with the participation of a private investor on PPP principles. In the course of construction 11 stations, 47 bridges, 23 railroad and 8 highway overpasses, 5 pedestrian bridges, 16 observation structures will be erected. For this purpose, it is planned to purchase over 500 thousand units of sleepers and 36 tons of rails from domestic manufacturers. Local content is expected to be at least 85%.

Prime Minister noted that last year Kazakhstan's railroads transported the maximum volume of cargo for 30 years of independence, which amounted to 245 billion tons/kilometer. High rates are maintained in the current year, despite the geopolitical situation and infrastructure constraints.

"Over the past five years, the volume of transit container transportation has grown 3.2 times. Existing transit corridors are being expanded and new ones are being opened. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, North-South and Southern corridors have become particularly relevant," Alikhan Smailov said.

At the same time, the throughput and infrastructure capacities have reached their peak. To address this strategic issue, a decision was made to implement a number of infrastructure projects in the railway industry.

Thus, in November last year, construction of second tracks on the Dostyk - Moyinty section began. In the current year, work on a new railroad bypassing Almaty and the railroad line Darbaza - Maktaaral was launched. In total, over 1300 km of railroads will be built in the republic within three years.

Prime Minister added that the construction of the highway will provide jobs for more than 1,700 people. At the same time, the opening of unloading and loading places will also entail the creation of new jobs.

"All this will have a positive impact on the economy of not only Abay region, but also the whole country. The implementation of the Bakhty - Ayagoz project will also accelerate the integration of Kazakhstan's railway network into the world transport system," Alikhan Smailov emphasized.

Kanat Almagambetov, deputy chairman of the board of KTZ, said that the new branch line will increase the volume of Kazakhstan's exports, as well as the transit of goods from Russia to China and back.

"Goods coming from Abay region, Pavlodar, East Kazakhstan regions and others will pass through this branch line. The construction of a double-track line is a guarantee that it will be at once with sufficient capacity. In general, it will be an additional inflow of transit cargo and an impetus to the development of our neighboring territories," he said.

The event was attended by the heads of the Abay regional Akimat, the Ministry of Transportation, Samruk-Kazyna JSC, KTZ, current employees and veterans of the industry.