Kazakhstan prioritises Middle Corridor development with new freight terminals, transport vessels

Kazakhstan has significant potential for the development of nuclear energy, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

He made the remarks during the 36th plenary session of the Foreign Investors Council, According to Caliber.Az, citing Kazakh media.

“Our country is the largest producer of uranium in the world. As you know, citizens recently supported the construction of the first nuclear power plant in a national referendum, which will serve as a long-term investment in our energy security,” said President Tokayev.

Tokayev also acknowledged the contributions of international oil companies that have played a crucial role in the country's development.

“Thanks to this, Kazakhstan has entered the top five countries with high oil production growth rates. Looking to the future, we aim to exceed the threshold of 100 million tons per year,” the president noted.

In the transport and logistics sector, Kazakhstan aims to strengthen its position as a key Eurasian transit hub, Tokayev emphasized.

He mentioned that the country plans to renovate 11,000 kilometres of old railways and construct over 5,000 new ones.

A priority is the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (or Middle Corridor), thus key attention is being paid to investments aimed at developing its infrastructure through the construction of new freight terminals and the production of transport vessels, he added.

For the record, Kazakhstan has a major plant making nuclear fuel pellets and aims eventually to sell value-added fuel rather than just uranium. A fuel fabrication plant is being built with 49% Chinese equity. In October 2024, 70% of voters backed new nuclear energy in a national referendum.

Kazakhstan has 12% of the world's uranium resources and in 2023 produced about 21,100 tonnes of uranium. Of the country's 13 uranium mining projects, three are wholly owned by Kazatomprom and 10 are joint ventures with foreign equity holders. In 2023, Kazatomprom's share of production was 11,170 tonnes of uranium.

By Khagan Isayev