April 16-17, 2019, field sessions of the working group and General Meeting of the Association of Legal Entities "International Association "Trans-Caspian International Transport Route" under the chairmanship of Sauat Mynbayev were held in Kiev (Ukraine).
Participants of the General Meeting of the TITR Association received the information on volumes of cargo transported via TITR (Middle Corridor) for the first quarter of 2019, accepted the Agreement on the organization of container service in direct international railway and maritime traffic with feeder vessel involvement between the ports of Caspian Sea (Aktau – Baku/Alyat). Also, the issues related to the interworking technology regarding the organization of block trains cargo transportation on the TITR were discussed and agreed. Competitive tariff rates were approved for the transportation of grain, oil and leguminous crops, sulfur, coal and LPG for 2019. Also, other commercial and business issues have been discussed.
During the meeting, the participants of the General Meeting noted an increase in transit traffic through TITR for the first 3 months of the current year by 2.9 times compared with the same period of 2018, including 2.5 times increase in strategic China – Europe direction. At the same time, container transportation in the mentioned direction increased more than 3 times.
By the decision of the General Meeting, the Regulation on the Management Board of TITR Association was approved, as well as the composition of the Management Board was changed, so Acting Director General and Chairman of the Board TCDD Taşımacılık A.Ş. JSC Mr. Erol Arıkan was elected as a member of the Management Board of the TITR Association.
According to the decision of the General Meeting, Kazakhstani company Kaskor-Transservice JSC joined the TITR Association as a new associate member.
In addition, on April 16, 2019, for the first time, the Kazakhstani feeder vessel "Turkestan" with containers of grain cargo from Kazakhstan, as well as Chinese goods (electronics, fabrics, other consumer goods) transited from the port of Lianyungang, was sent from the port of Aktau to the port of Baku, as part of regular container service. The service will be operated on a weekly basis.
The event was attended by the Chairman of the Board of Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna JSC Akhmetzhan Yessimov, Chairman of The Board of TITR Association, Chairman of The Board of Kazakhstan Railways NC JSC Sauat Mynbayev, Chairman of the Board of KazMunaiGas NC JSC Alik Aidarbayev, akim of Mangistau region Eraly Tugzhanov, heads of transport and logistics companies and shippers using the service on the TITR.
The launch of a regular feeder service will contribute to the expansion of containerization services, as well as increasing the volume of cargo transportation on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (Middle Corridor).
For reference: Kaskor-Transservice JSC provides railway services, supplying and cleaning the wagons to approach line to businesses and individuals within the industrial zone of Aktau city. Kaskor-Transservice JSC is a direct link between Kazakhstan Railways NC JSC and Aktau Sea Commercial Port NC JSC. The length of the rail routes of Kaskor-Transservice JSC is 163,075 km, there are 14 diesel locomotives, 94 own fleet of cars, overhaul and reconstruction park – 2 motive-power depot and railway car station. The number of wagons that are received and transmitted between the station Mangyshlak and Aktau port, an average of 259 wagons per day, up to a maximum of 684 wagons per day. The capacity of wagons is up to 5,000 wagons.
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION "TRANS-CASPIAN INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT ROUTE"