A new multimodal route linking Japan and Kazakhstan has been launched by a subsidiary of the national railway company. Containers with chemical products have been dispatched from the port of Kobe to Almaty, reports infohub.kz.
The route, spanning about 6,000 kilometers, passes through China and combines sea and rail transport. Initially, the cargo travels by sea from Kobe to the Chinese port of Lianyungang (approximately 1,620 kilometers), then after customs clearance, it is transferred to rail and covers another 4,400 kilometers to Almaty.
At the China-Kazakhstan border, at the Altynkol checkpoint, the containers are reloaded onto rolling stock of the Kazakh gauge, after which they continue to their final destination.
A key link in the route is the port of Lianyungang, where the Kazakhstan-China International Logistics Company operates. The joint terminal project was launched in 2014 under the Belt and Road Initiative. Through this port, Kazakhstani cargo gains access to sea routes connecting the country with China and East Asian markets.
"The first shipment from Kobe demonstrates that this logistics infrastructure can be used not only for cargo from China. Through Chinese territory and Kazakhstan, other countries in the Pacific region can also be connected to land routes," noted KTZ.
The company emphasizes that the new route expands the geography of KTZ Express's international transportation and opens additional opportunities for freight traffic between Kazakhstan and Asian countries.
Earlier, KTZ announced the construction of its own sea container vessels. The subsidiary KTZ Express - LLP "KTZ Express Shipping" - signed contracts for the construction of six universal dry cargo container ships. Four vessels will be built by China's Jiangsu Haizhongzhou Shipping Industry Co., Ltd., and two more by the Baku Shipyard.
In addition, it was previously reported that a shipment of Changan cars from China to Russia was tested for the first time through Kazakhstan in specialized containers of a new type.