During the working visit of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Baku, where he arrived to attend the Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), a ceremony was held on 15 October to exchange documents for the construction of two universal bulk carriers for KTZ Express Shipping LLP, a subsidiary of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy National Company JSC. The press service of the Samruk-Kazyna fund reported this. The contracts for the construction of the vessels were signed in April 2026.
The ceremony was attended by Nurlan Zhakupov, Chairman of the Management Board of Samruk-Kazyna JSC, and Rashad Nabiyev, Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AZCON Holding.
The vessels will be built at the Baku Shipyard. The new bulk carriers are planned to be deployed on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), which connects Asia and Europe.
"The development of its own maritime fleet will allow Kazakhstan to improve the efficiency of cargo transportation management, increase the carrying capacity of the Trans-Caspian route and create additional conditions for attracting international cargo flows," the Samruk-Kazyna fund said in a statement.
The project is being implemented in accordance with Tokayev's instructions and aims to develop a multimodal transport and logistics system, strengthen Kazakhstan's transit potential and enhance its position on international transport routes.
