ASTANA – A Kazakh infrastructure developer and investor SEMURG INVEST and MEDLOG Poti, a logistics operator and part of the global MSC Group, have signed a sale and purchase agreement to establish a strategic partnership in Sarzha Logistics. The partnership aims to expand container and multimodal freight flows across Central Asia and strengthen connections to Türkiye and European markets.
Photo credit: Semurg Invest. Click to see the map in full size. The map is designed by The Astana Times.
After completing the transaction, MEDLOG and SEMURG will form an equal partnership in Sarzha Logistics, which will operate container cargo flows in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan.
Focus on Middle Corridor connectivity
The partnership comes as Kazakhstan and Central Asian countries seek to diversify export routes and develop more resilient connections between East and West. Sarzha Logistics will combine SEMURG’s local infrastructure and project development capabilities with MEDLOG’s international logistics network. The cooperation may cover logistics terminals, dry ports, railway infrastructure and other intermodal facilities.
“Kazakhstan is becoming increasingly important in East-West trade and regional supply chains. Through this partnership, we see an opportunity to develop new container and multimodal cargo flows connecting Central Asia through the Caspian and Georgia with Türkiye, Europe and our wider global network,” MEDLOG Poti Managing Director Mukhran Dekanadze said.
From L to R: from left to right: Executive Director at Medlog Transport and Logistics Salvatore Prudente, Business Development Director of SEMURG INVEST Madina Anet, General Director of SEMURG INVEST Nurzhan Marabayev; Mukhran Dekanadze, Managing Director at MEDLOG Poti LLC; Eduard Sigrist, Senior Vice President of MSC, Martin Thomle, Area Manager at MEDLOG Transport & Logistics. Photo credit: Semurg Invest
According to Dekanadze, MEDLOG’s presence in Georgia, MSC’s global shipping network and SEMURG’s infrastructure at Kuryk provide a basis for developing integrated logistics solutions along the Middle Corridor.
SEMURG INVEST General Director Nurzhan Marabayev said the partnership reflects growing interest among international operators and investors in establishing a long-term presence in Kazakhstan.
“International companies need not only an attractive market. They need local partners capable of investing, developing projects and implementing them in practice,” Marabayev said.
Sarzha to expand cargo-handling capacity
The partnership will rely on SEMURG’s infrastructure at Kuryk port on the Caspian Sea. The Sarzha Multifunctional Maritime Terminal cluster is planned to handle up to 5 million tonnes of cargo annually, including container capacity of up to 110,000 TEUs per year.
Sarzha is being developed as a multimodal port, logistics and industrial cluster on Kazakhstan’s Caspian coast, combining maritime terminals with logistics facilities, railway and road infrastructure. The project is intended to provide Kazakhstan and Central Asian countries with additional cargo-handling capacity and strengthen their access to markets in Türkiye and Europe.
