Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- At the Economic Cooperation Organization summit in Tashkent, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov expressed an initiative to develop transport connectivity in the region.

He emphasized that seven out of ten member countries of the organization are deprived of access to the world’s oceans, and proposed focusing efforts on the development of cross-border trade and logistics infrastructure.

One of the key points of growth, according to the Prime Minister, will be the international center for industrial cooperation “Central Asia”, located on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. A similar complex is also planned to be built on the border with Kyrgyzstan. To strengthen ties between Uzbekistan and the western regions of Kazakhstan, the Beineu-Shalkar highway will be created, thereby completing the formation of the 8th TRACECA road corridor.

Kazakhstan is also focusing on the development of seaports in the Caspian Sea, with plans to build a container hub in the port of Aktau and a multifunctional Sarzha terminal in the port of Kuryk. The construction of station tracks at checkpoints with China to supply the countries of Central Asia is being actively considered. Cargo traffic in this direction is planned to increase to 500 thousand containers per year by 2030.

Kazakhstan also prioritizes the development of the Trans-Caspian International Corridor and, together with Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, is implementing roadmaps to simultaneously eliminate bottlenecks and develop the Middle Corridor until 2027.