On November 5, Vice Minister of Transport Satzhan Ablaliyev spoke during the government meeting in Astana about Kazakhstan's intention to develop international road transportation through the country on the China–Europe transit route, QazMonitor reports.
Currently, 3,578 domestic carriers, with a fleet of 27,745 vehicles, are certified and possess admission cards for international transportation. Among them, 370 carriers, with a fleet of 7,600 vehicles, are engaged in long-distance international transportation.
"Transportation is conducted with 42 countries within the framework of intergovernmental agreements. In the first nine months of this year, 5.5 million tons of cargo were transported, representing a 22% increase compared to the same period last year. The share of domestic operators in these shipments is 42%," said Ablaliyev.
He noted that positive dynamics are also observed in transit transportation. At the end of nine months, there was a 44% increase in the total volume of transit traffic compared to last year (from 2.5 to 3.6 million tons). The main volume of transit falls on cargoes from China, which has doubled during this period (from 0.7 to 1.5 million tons).
According to estimates, up to 1.6 billion tons of cargo are transported annually from China to Europe by sea. Less than 1% (0.01%) of this volume is transported through our country by transit. International practice shows that medical, high-priced goods and those requiring quick delivery are usually transported by road. Therefore, there is a great potential to increase the volume of transit cargo from China to Europe [through Kazakhstan].
Facilitated by the introduction of a visa-free regime this year and the agreement on transit passage of carriers between China and Kazakhstan, the volume of transit traffic is anticipated to grow fivefold reaching 1 million tons by 2029. Ablaliyev noted that a threefold increase in Chinese transit (from 0.01% to 0.03%) will result in an inflow of ₸263 billion per year to Kazakhstan's economy.
In this context, the Transport Ministry plans the following measures to develop international road transportation and increase the share of domestic operators:
Creation of bonded warehouses in major cities where there is already an interest from marketplaces such as Ozon and Wildberries
Increasing the capacity of border crossing points and the domestic fleet of vehicles, as well as introducing an effective system for distributing permit forms
