19/09/2024

The new multimodal corridor will connect the Russian Federation and China through the cross-border Irtysh River. 
 
The latter flows between Russia and China through the northeast of Kazakhstan and has great potential for creating a large multimodal route. That will help direct the flow of rail freight to the shores of the Arctic. 
 
"We plan to transport goods along the Irtysh River from Tomsk to the village of Tugyl on Lake Zaisan by river vessels," said Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Railway and Water Transport of the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan Kassym Tlepov. "From there, the cargo will be transported by road or rail to China and back." 
 
This one of the longest rivers in the world flows through the territory of 3 countries: China (525 km), Kazakhstan (1700 km) and Russia (2010 km). The Irtysh is also a major tributary of the Ob River, which flows into the northern seas of Russia. Goods coming from China can be transported all the way to the Arctic Ocean through the Ob-Irtysh basin. It is expected that this route will increase the volume of freight traffic by almost 4 million tons per year. 
 
Kazakhstan, according to Tlepov, may put this route into operation relatively soon — in 2026. The project includes the construction of an additional hydraulic engineering structure on the Pavlodar–Semey section, the Tugyl port and the Tugyl–Maykapchagai railway.