Kazakhstan is a core transit country in the CAREC region, anchoring the TITR, Northern Corridor, and other east–west and north–south trade routes. With a 96,000-km road network and over 16,000 km of railways, it is the region’s most extensive overland transport system. Seaports at Aktau and Kuryk on the Caspian Sea support maritime links to Azerbaijan, while major investments are expanding multimodal hubs and container terminals.
The country transported 980 mt of goods in 2023, of which 416 mt of cargo was transported via rail and the bulk of the remaining by road.10 Besides the huge land mass that serves transit traffic, Kazakhstan also leverages its Caspian Sea ports—Aktau and Kuryk—for trade. These ports have a combined capacity of 21 mt per year, handling oil, grain, and general cargo. The merchant fleet includes 20 vessels, with tankers operating in the Caspian, Black, and Mediterranean seas. Kazakhstan is expanding its maritime capacity, with dredging projects underway at Aktau and plans to increase its port throughput to 32 mt annually by 2029.
In 2023, Kazakhstan showed a divergent pattern between road and rail transport. Road transport performance improved significantly with steep reductions in clearance time and cost, and TFI3 for road fell by 31%. By contrast, rail TFIs deteriorated, with longer delays and rising costs, especially at key BCPs such as Dostyk and Altynkol, where gauge change operations and documentation issues persist. To consolidate its position as a regional logistics hub, Kazakhstan is aggressively modernizing rail terminals, expanding container-handling capacity, and promoting the TITR as a viable alternative.
Moderate Improvement
Table 6.3: Trade Facilitation Indicators for Kazakhstan (2021–2023)
| Trade Facilitation Indicators | Road Transport | Rail Transport | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | % change | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | % change | ||
| TFI1 | Time taken to clear a border-crossing point (hour) | 8.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 | -2.69% | 57.2 | 67.4 | 69.7 | 3.50% |
| Outbound | 5.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 | -1.64% | 11.4 | 6.8 | 10.6 | 55.60% | |
| Inbound | 9.5 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.42% | 61.8 | 78.0 | 74.7 | -4.23% | |
| TFI2 | Cost incurred at border-crossing clearance ($) | 567 | 317 | 89 | -72.01 | 308 | 297 | 331 | 11.45% |
| Outbound | 30 | 19 | 26 | 38.35% | 139 | 185 | 132 | -28.48% | |
| Inbound | 875 | 504 | 125 | -75.19% | 319 | 313 | 344 | 9.93% | |
| TFI3 | Cost incurred to travel a corridor section | 2,422 | 1,493 | 1,030 | -31.04% | 924 | 883 | 1,053 | 19.28% |
| ($, per 500 km, per 20-ton cargo) | |||||||||
| SWD | Speed to travel on CAREC Corridors (km/h) | 28.6 | 31.2 | 28.9 | -7.30% | 8.9 | 10.4 | 10.5 | 0.75% |
| SWOD | Speed without Delay (km/h) | 49.9 | 51.1 | 44.7 | -12.64% | 49 | 57.9 | 63.7 | 10.04% |
TFI1 for road transport improved modestly, with average clearance time reducing from 8.16 hr in 2021 to 4.23 hr in 2023, reflecting a 48% overall decrease. Inbound and outbound times also improved, decreasing from 9.52 hr to 4.42 hr, and 5.93 hr to 3.90 hr, respectively. The gains reflect efficiency upgrades in customs processes and better lane management at key BCPs such as Nur Zholy and Dostyk.
For rail transport, however, the trend diverged. Rail border-crossing time rose from 57.23 hr in 2021 to 69.73 hr in 2023 (+3.5%). Outbound clearance time increased significantly from 6.84 hr to 10.65 hr in 2023 (+55.6%), potentially due to growing freight volumes, limited gauge-change capacity, or increased documentation time at the China-Kazakhstan border. While inbound rail clearance decreased slightly (–4.2%), overall rail TFI1 remains a concern.
Road transport costs at border-crossing points dropped significantly, from $567.47 in 2021 to $88.81 in 2023 (–72%). This drastic decline may be attributed to reforms in customs procedures, improved private sector logistics service provision, and possibly the digitalization of customs clearance. Inbound cost saw a sharper reduction (from $874.61 to $124.98), whereas outbound cost slightly increased in 2023 ($26.39).
Rail transport costs, however, increased by 11.5% over the three-year period, from $308.30 in 2021 to $330.97 in 2023. Notably, outbound cost declined by 28.5%, while inbound costs rose by 9.9%. The higher inbound cost could reflect longer clearance times and higher operational fees. The cost disparity between road and rail indicates a shift in logistics favorability toward road transport in Kazakhstan.
Corridor travel costs for road transport showed a significant improvement, falling from $2,421.50 in 2021 to $1,029.91 in 2023, showing a 31% reduction. This could indicate improved road conditions, fleet modernization, and more competitive trucking markets. By contrast, rail transport costs increased from $923.75 to $1,052.75 (+19.3%), reflecting a reversal in cost efficiency, potentially due to higher fuel prices, rolling stock limitations, or increasing rail freight demand.
For road transport, SWD slightly declined by 7.3%, from 28.57 km/h to 28.94 km/h in 2023, indicating that road infrastructure still faces congestion issues. SWOD fell more significantly, from 51.14 km/h to 44.68 km/h (–12.6%), suggesting broader constraints such as poor pavement, speed limitations, and traffic bottlenecks.
Rail transport SWD marginally increased from 8.88 to 10.52 km/h (0.75%), while SWOD rose from 48.97 to 63.66 km/h (10%), signaling improved track conditions, locomotive speeds, and better operational scheduling. However, these gains have yet to fully translate into reduced clearance times.