Kazakhstan is advancing a $1bn port and logistics hub on the eastern Caspian Sea, with design and survey work under way ahead of construction, according to the Mangystau regional administration.
The project in the Karakiya district is being developed with Chinese investor Guo You Resources Group and is planned to handle between 6m and 15m tonnes of cargo annually in its initial stage, rising to 25m tonnes in later phases.
The first phase is expected to require $300m and will include port infrastructure, berths, container and warehouse terminals and new rail and road links.
Plans call for seven berths, a breakwater of about 3 km and 7.5 km of railway tracks, as well as facilities for RO-RO vessels and rail ferries and shipbuilding and ship repair operations.
An investment agreement for the first phase of a multifunctional terminal at Kuryk Port was signed in July by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Transport, the Mangystau regional administration and Kazakhstan Guoyou Investment, the group's Kazakh subsidiary.
Guoyou chairman Yu Boyan put planned investment at KZT470bn ($1.03bn). Construction is scheduled for 2026 to 2028, followed by a second stage from 2029 to 2031 and commissioning of the full complex in 2032.
Earlier project parameters included first-phase capacity of up to 180,000 TEU, 180,000 vehicles and 2m to 3m tonnes of bulk cargo annually. Total investment across all stages has also been put at up to $1.1bn.
The completed hub is expected to create between 600 and 800 permanent jobs, with plans to train Kazakh technical personnel and gradually transfer port operations management to local specialists.
The development forms part of Kazakhstan's expansion of Kuryk Port and the Middle Corridor. Existing infrastructure at Aktau and Kuryk ports has combined annual capacity of about 22m tonnes.
Guoyou Materials Group is a Tianjin-based Chinese supply-chain and trading group with 18 subsidiaries in China and Kazakhstan. Its activities include international logistics and warehousing, agricultural machinery, energy and bulk commodities and other trading and technology-related businesses. Kazakhstan Guoyou Investment is its Kazakhstan subsidiary.