BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 5. KTZ Express, a subsidiary of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), has organized the first multimodal shipment of containers carrying chemical products from the Japanese port of Kobe to Almaty, the company said.
"Тhe route, with a total length of about 6,000 kilometers, includes sea and rail sections: from the port of Kobe, the containers travel by sea for about 1,620 kilometers to Lianyungang, China, where, following customs clearance, the cargo is transferred to rail and travels another approximately 4,400 kilometers to Almaty," KTZ said in a statement.
Moreover, it is noted that at the China-Kazakhstan border, the containers are transferred to rolling stock compatible with Kazakhstan's rail gauge through the Altynkol border crossing, after which transportation continues to the final destination.
The company said that Lianyungang is one of the key links in KTZ Express's transport infrastructure in East Asia. The port is home to the Kazakhstan-China International Logistics Company in Lianyungang, a joint terminal project between Kazakhstan and China launched in 2014 as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
"Through this hub, Kazakhstan's cargo flows gain access to international maritime routes connecting Kazakhstan, China and East Asian markets," the company said.
KTZ Express noted that the potential of such connectivity can be used not only for cargo originating in China, but also to connect other countries in the Pacific region to overland routes through China and Kazakhstan.
