Paul Goble
Staunton, Dec. 26 – Kazakhstan is rapidly expanding the capacity of its ports and transportation links connecting them to the rest of the country as well as the size of its merchant marine and navy on the Caspian, moves that likely to increase east-west trade across that inland sea and put Astana in a position to challenge Moscow’s supremacy there.
This new push has been announced by Kazakhstan transportation minister Marat Karabayev (lsm.kz/kazahstan-vedet-peregovory-s-zarubezhnymi-kompaniyami-o-rasshirenii-morskoj-infrastruktury and casp-geo.ru/kazahstan-rabotaet-nad-rasshireniem-morskoj-infrastruktury/).
It involves dredging Kazakhstan’s two ports to improve shipping access, developing rail lines leading to these ports, improving their intermodal transportation capabilities, and adding ships both to the country’s merchant marine and navy. To achieve these goals quickly, Astana is turning to Turkey, China and the Arab world for investment.
For background on this effort and its economic and security consequences, see windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/10/silting-up-of-kazakhstan-rivers.html, jamestown.org/program/turkey-set-to-help-kazakhstan-expand-its-caspian-fleet/, jamestown.org/program/russias-caspian-flotilla-no-longer-only-force-that-matters-there/ and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2022/05/kazakhstan-increasingly-preparing-its.html).
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