ASTANA – Kazakhstan plans to enhance the transit potential of the countries along the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), said Kazakh Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Kairat Uskenbayev during an Oct. 10 meeting with counterparts from Iran and Central Asian countries in Tehran, reported the ministry’s press service.
The map of transport routes of Eurasia, including the INSTC. Source: Eurasian Development Bank.
“We are interested in increasing the transit potential of our countries along the International North-South Transport Corridor. To date, a stable transport connection has been established between the ports of Aktau and the northern ports of Iran, Anzali, and Amirabad,” Uskenbayev said.
Participants of the meeting, which focused on the INSTC’s transit and transportation potential, supported the initiative to develop the transport corridor by removing infrastructural bottlenecks and administrative impediments and creating advantageous conditions for carriers.
According to Uskenbayev, the Aktau port provides discounts for its services while reducing tariffs for the transshipment of a 40-foot container to expand container traffic.
The meeting participants also considered other transport corridors that will connect Central Asia with the countries of the Persian Gulf and South Asia.
Created in 2000, the INSTC connects the Nordic countries and the north-western part of the Eurasian Economic Union to the Gulf and Indian Ocean states via the Caucasus and Central Asia. Kazakhstan joined the INSTC agreement in 2003.
