From AI road diagnosis to intelligent freight platforms, Kazakhstan's transportation system is undergoing a full chain upgrade. Minister of Transport SaUlanbayev pointed out that digital reform has reduced border inspection time to 10 minutes, increased road capacity by 20%, and injected new efficiency into the trade corridor between China and Europe.

In early winter in Almaty, freight trains slowly pass through the newly renovated railway hub under the sunset. Along this transportation artery that crosses Kazakhstan, containers from China and Europe are flowing at a faster speed - in the first 10 months of this year, the transit cargo volume of this Central Asian country has reached 29.4 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5%. And this is just a microcosm of Kazakhstan's massive transportation upgrade plan.

"The transportation industry has become an important driving force for the steady growth of the country." Nurlan Saulanbayev, Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan, disclosed at a recent government meeting that from January to October this year, the national transportation service volume surged 20.7% year on year, fixed assets investment increased 18.4%, and many core indicators achieved double-digit leaps.

Ten thousand kilometers of highways and smart railways

Samurabayev stated that currently, 93% of national highways in the country have reached standard technical status, and road construction and repair projects will cover over 13000 kilometers within the year. At the same time, the railway freight volume reached 380.3 million tons, and the road freight volume was 288 million tons, an increase of 7.9% and 1.7% respectively. Air passenger transport also achieved 13.1 million passengers, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%.

As a key node in the Central Asian transportation corridor connecting China and Europe, Kazakhstan continues to increase its investment in infrastructure. 37 border checkpoints will be modernized by the end of 2027 to improve customs clearance efficiency. More noteworthy is that 220 automated measurement stations have been installed nationwide, which use AI to monitor overloading and road conditions in real-time, resulting in a tenfold increase in revenue from violation detection and related budgets.

From e-Joldar to intelligent platform

Digitization is the core of this reform. We are advancing the e-Joldar digital road pass to lay the foundation for future autonomous driving. ”Saurabayev emphasized. The intelligent freight platform launched in October this year has integrated 30 government services and will also connect with 47 public and private services in the future, achieving real-time tracking of goods, AI assistant consultation and other functions.

The railway system is also moving towards intelligence - there are over 250 information systems in operation nationwide, and a unified technical architecture will be built in the future. Through the "Green Corridor" mechanism, the system can automatically generate transit declaration forms, greatly reducing the process time. It is estimated that AI technology will reduce train formation planning time by six times and compress airport cargo processing to one hour.

Fee Reform and Sustainable Operation and Maintenance

While improving efficiency, Kazakhstan is promoting capital inflows through the KazToll toll system. At present, the revenue from toll roads has reached 79 billion tenge (approximately 1.2 billion yuan), which is used to alleviate national budget pressure and achieve sustainable maintenance of highways. This "road maintenance" mechanism is helping this landlocked country overcome the funding difficulties of infrastructure maintenance.

With the gradual integration of customs, quarantine, and veterinary supervision into a single window, Kazakhstan is building a "digital base" for Eurasian trade. Saurabayev concluded, "This full chain upgrade is not only to enhance our country's competitiveness, but also to strengthen the land route between China and Europe, making the flow of goods smarter and faster." Keywords: new infrastructure news, international transportation news

From the Gobi Highway to the Caspian Sea coast, a digital transportation revolution is unfolding in Kazakhstan - as 29.4 million tons of goods quietly pass through, the country has quietly turned around and become an indispensable "smart hub" on the Eurasian continent.Editor/Yang Meiling