Kazakhstan Leads Central Asia in Transport Infrastructure Investment, EDB Says
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Kazakhstan accounts for $32.3 billion, or 45 percent, of the $71.75 billion Central Asian countries are directing to road and railway development, the Eurasian Development Bank reports. The bank's observatory lists 402 projects worth $345 billion across Eurasia, 114 of them in Central Asia.
Key Facts
- Railways account for 42.8% of all investment in the transport framework.
- China has invested more than $7 billion in Central Asian transport infrastructure, mostly under the Belt and Road Initiative.
- 62% of projects by value are financed from national budgets.
- Almost half of all private investment in Eurasian transport infrastructure goes to logistics and warehousing.
- Kazakhstan builds logistics projects along the Western Europe–Western China corridor and on the borders with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan's Investment Share
Kazakhstan accounts for about $32.3 billion, or 45 percent, of the $71.75 billion Central Asian countries are directing to road and railway development, the Eurasian Development Bank reports. The bank's observatory tracks 402 projects worth $345 billion across Eurasia, with 114 projects located in Central Asia. Every second major infrastructure project in the region is linked to Kazakhstan, according to the bank. China remains the largest external investor, having put more than $7 billion into Central Asian transport infrastructure. No other Central Asian republic invests as much as Kazakhstan, the bank emphasizes.
Rail and Road Projects
Railways absorb 42.8 percent of all investment in the transport framework. Roads, logistics hubs, and border crossings are also being actively built and modernized. Priority is given to routes connecting Kazakhstan with China, Russia, and the South Caucasus. Most Chinese-financed projects are part of the Belt and Road Initiative. The largest such project is the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, with Kazakhstan as the main transit link.
Funding and Future Network
National budgets finance 62 percent of projects by value. Almost half of all private investment in Eurasian transport infrastructure goes to logistics and warehousing. In Kazakhstan, such projects are built along the Western Europe–Western China corridor and on the borders with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. By 2035, the Eurasian transport network is expected to become a unified framework. The EDB report concludes that Kazakhstan has become the main investor and developer of the Eurasian transport network.
2 sources
Kazakhstan Leads Central Asia in Transport Infrastructure Investment, EDB Says
