In order to expand capacity for a vital transportation corridor between Asia and Europe, Kazakhstan will begin dredging a portion of the Caspian Sea surrounding its main port, an official told AFP on Monday.
Goods can move from China to Europe via the Trans-Caspian trade route, sometimes referred to as the “Middle Corridor,” which avoids Russia.
A spokesman for Kazakhstan’s transport ministry told AFP that the project, which is anticipated to be completed this year, will “increase the load capacity of ships in the port of Aktau and transport along the Trans-Caspian transport route.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of massive Western sanctions have pushed Europe to look at alternative ways of securing imports from China and the rest of Asia.
The route crosses Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and then Turkey.
Earlier this year, the European Union declared its intention to invest 10 billion euros, or $11 billion, in the development of the Central Asian route.
The World Bank estimates that if infrastructure can be improved, freight volumes will quadruple to 11 million tonnes by 2030.
However, the route’s feasibility is threatened by declining water levels in the Caspian Sea, which must be crossed to reach from Central Asia to the Caucasus.
Larger ships find it more difficult to transport goods in shallower waters.
“If we do not carry out dredging work by the end of the year and the sea level continues to fall, navigation will remain inefficient,” an official at the Aktau port told Kazakh state media earlier this month.
Kazakh scientists reported in January an “acceleration” in declining water levels.
The Caspian Sea, larger than Germany, is surrounded by Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan.
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