Kazakhstan signed an agreement with the Chinese company Guoyou Materials Group for the construction of a multifunctional hub at the Caspian Port of Kuryk. The investment totals one billion US dollars, according to Kazakh media. It will transform the Kuryk port into a major Middle Corridor transshipment location.
The Kazakh President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev met Guoyou Materials Group Chairman Yu Boyan during a visit to Shanghai. As a result of the meeting, the two sides agreed on a major upgrade at the Port of Kuryk.
Guoyou will boost capacity at the port to 15 million tonnes annually, according to Kazakhstan’s presidential press office. The Chinese company will seek to achieve this within the first year of working on the project.
Currently, the railway ferry and automobile facilities at the Kuryk port have a capacity of seven million tonnes per year. That number will more than double. By comparison: the Middle Corridor now moves around five million tonnes annually.
Beyond Kuryk
Capacity at the Kuryk port will therefore grow far beyond what is currently being transported on the Middle Corridor. This suggests that both China and Kazakhstan are confident that the route will continue to expand heading into the future. It is worth noting that Kuryk is not the only port of Kazakhstan’s Caspian coast. The country also has the Port of Aktau. Kazakhstan wants to boost capacity at both locations.
“Efforts are underway to modernise the seaports of Aktau and Kuryk. As a result, their throughput capacity will increase from 21 million to 30 million tonnes”, Kazakh transport minister Nurlan Sauranbayev stated earlier this year. “This will enhance the potential of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and reinforce Kazakhstan’s role as a regional logistics hub”, Sauranbayev added.
On the other side of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan is also eyeing capacity expansions to keep up with those of Kazakhstan. “Right now, we see that the upgraded infrastructure will no longer be sufficient in the next 3-5 years”, the country’s president Ilham Aliyev said in 2025.
“Our goal was to have a handling capacity of 15 million tonnes at our trade seaport, which we thought would be enough for decades. However, we now expect 25 million tonnes within probably five or six years. So, what are we doing now? We are financing the expansion of our trade seaport and railway infrastructure.”