ASTANA — The Kostanai business community proposed to create an international logistics hub and build a dry port in the region to expand the country’s export potential during an Aug. 7 investment forum, reported Kazinform.
Kostanai. Photo credit: wikiway.com. Click to see the map in full size. The map is designed by The Astana Times.
According to Aidyn Alimov, director of the Tobol transport and logistics complex, this initiative could accelerate regional and border trade by consolidating and localizing the production of goods. The main range of goods, including asbestos, cereals, milling products, and sunflower oil, are exported via 160 routes to Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, and Vietnam.
Every year, the region witnesses growth in new enterprises and expansion of existing ones. It is planned to launch ten more projects in the engineering sector in the coming three years.
Due to the region’s industrial and agricultural potential, container traffic growth increased by 563% in 2022 compared to 2021 and nearly 200% this year.
Given the construction of the car plant for the production of the KIA brand cars with an annual production capacity of 70,000 units per year, the deficit in container traffic will reach 560% and 800% during harvest.
The existing marshaling yard with technical deterioration limits the capacity of the cargo station in Kostanai.
An increase in cargo turnover by 310,500 tons (682%) will require containers, storage facilities, and the consolidation of goods with subsequent industrialization. This indicates the need to construct a dry port in the region, Alimov noted.
The country has two large transport and logistics hubs – the Aktau seaport and the Altynkol dry port on the border with China.
In case of state support, the project will be implemented within a few years in the city’s industrial zone on 157 hectares with nearly 37 billion tenge ($82.9 million) in investments.
“We believe that the implementation of this project will have a multiplier effect for the region, as it will allow creating a small business belt around the dry port,” Alimov emphasized.
