Is German Martrade going to redirect its Caspian Sea investments to Kazakhstan’s Aktau from Olya in Russia?

Aktau, Kazakhstan (PortSEurope) April 24, 2022 – Experts from Germany's Martrade Group have visited Kazakh Caspian Sea port of Aktau to assess future investment potential. The port seeks foreign investments as a new transport and especially container hub taking over cargo, mostly from China which is avoiding transit via sanctions hit Russia. Privately-owned German integrated logistics service provider Martrade Group offers worldwide services from a corporate headquarters in Düsseldorf. It has a global network of branches and also terminals in ports in Ukraine, India and Iraq. Will Aktau replace Olya? In January, it was announced that Martrade and PLC Caspiy would build a container terminal at Russia’s Caspian Sea Port of Olya. The first phase of the project would develop the current berths 8 and 9 to be followed by four new terminals. The big question is whether this project will be realised. Martrade refocus its investments outside of Russia and into another Caspian Sea country like Kazakhstan? Official information released in 2021 said that the Olya project this would increase port’s throughput to 2.2 million tonnes by 2023. A second phase of the plans involves a new port in the nearby Ilmen Zaburunny area (about 7 km from Olya port). The longer-term goal is a facility with a throughput of 8 million tonnes by 2031. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is considering financing for the Caspian Port and Logistics Company (Caspiy/Caspian PLC) to plan, construct and operate a multi-functional port and logistics complex in Olya, Russian media reported in December 2021. Hamburg Port Consulting (Germany) confirmed the feasibility of construction and estimated the potential freight turnover at 19 million tonnes by 2050. According to the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development, there was a 4% increase in the cargo that went through the ports of Aktau and Kuryk on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) in Q1’2022, compared with the same period last year. In March, 2,400 more TEUs were handled by the ports, mostly cargo avoiding Russian ports. The TITR, also known as the Middle Corridor, is an alternative to the previously used transport route through Russia and Belarus, which were hit by Western sanctions imposed for Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. However, the Caspian Sea is the bottleneck of the Middle Corridor. PSA International also interested in Aktau Earleir in April, Kazakhstan and Singapore-based PSA International agreed to build and develop a container hub in Aktau port with PSA expressing interest in further development of transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor. The new project will increase containers capacity of the port to 100,000 TEU per year. In 2022, Kazakhstan expects its Caspian Sea ports of Aktau and Kuryk to handle some 10 million tonnes of cargo. The increase on 2021 is due to the redirection of 4 million tonnes of export cargo. Due to ruptured of logistics chains in Kazakhstan, following the Russian invasion in Ukraine two months ago, alternative trade corridors for the transportation of export and transit cargo have been developed. PortSEurope: PSA International to build container terminal in Aktau port More feeder vessels between Aktau and Baku As of September, the number of ships that operate the Caspian Sea line between the Aktau in Kazakhstan and Baku in Azerbaijan will increase from three to six. This will double the cargo capacity of the Middle Corridor, the Secretary General of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TMTM), Gaidar Abdikerimov, said. PortSEurope: Three more container ships to double the cargo capacity of the Middle Corridor between Aktau and Baku PortSEurope analysis: Russia “discovers” its strategic Caspian Sea ports More PortSEurope information about the Port of Aktau Copyright (C) PortSEurope. All Rights Reserved. 2022.

Is German Martrade going to redirect its Caspian Sea investments to Kazakhstan’s Aktau from Olya in Russia?

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Is German Martrade going to redirect its Caspian Sea investments to Kazakhstan’s Aktau from Olya in Russia?

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All news

EU delegation visits Gioia Tauro port to see anti-drug efforts

Table: Russian ports monthly cargo results Oct’23-Oct’24

Russian ports handled 743 mln tonnes of cargo Jan-Oct’24

Reference: Russian occupation of neighbours’ territory

HHLA reports positive growth in the first nine months of 2024

Our Expert Analysis

Latest Free Reads

Top Ports