By  Trend

An agreement on strategic cooperation between the Kazakhstan Railways JSC and the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) JSC was signed on September 12 as part of the Kazakhstan-Turkey investment forum in Ankara, the Kazakhstan Railways JSC said in a message posted on its website Sept. 13.

The document aimed at strengthening bilateral relations in the field of railway transport, including mechanical engineering, was signed by Kanat Alpysbaev, chairman of the board of the Kazakhstan Railways JSC, and Veysi Kurt, director general of the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) JSC.

The agreement provides for joint work in the development of transit potential, as well as transport and logistics system in Kazakhstan and Turkey as part of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

“A multimodal Trans-Caspian corridor has been formed between our countries, where the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and port infrastructure in the Caspian Sea contribute to the dynamic growth of transcontinental transportation,” Alpysbaev said. “In 2018, a four-fold growth in rail and road transportation is expected compared to 2017. By 2020, it is proposed to bring the volume of transportation to 5 million tons.”

As part of the deal, the parties also agreed to provide competitive tariff conditions for container transportation, create a consolidation and distribution center at the Khorgos-Eastern Gate special economic zone for cargoes going to/coming from Kazakhstan and China to/from Turkey.