The group of companies “PTC Holding” completes the dismantling of structures on the territory of the multimodal terminal planned for construction in the port of Poti (Georgia) and begins construction work. Today, a capsule was laid on the site of the future global infrastructure facility of Kazakhstan and Georgia. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic and Sustainable Development of Georgia Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan Marat Karabayev, as well as businessmen of the two countries.

“It is important to note that now the economic cooperation between Georgia and Kazakhstan is entering a new stage of development and this is evidenced by the fact that in 2022 the cargo turnover between the countries amounted to $ 3 million and tripled over the past year. In this sense, for the correct and competent development of relationships and potential, it is absolutely necessary to develop infrastructure in terms of logistics of cargo transportation,” Levan Davitashvili commented.

In turn, the Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan Marat Karabayev noted that Kazakhstan now pays special attention to the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

“Kazakhstan should become a transit hub for the transportation of goods from China to the EU and back. Such projects will contribute to this. It is especially pleasant that the Kazakh company goes beyond the country’s markets and participates in the development of the port of Poti. Kazakhstan will have its own terminal in Georgia and this is a continuation of Kazakhstan’s policy on the development of TMTM,” Marat Karabayev said.

The terminal under construction will contribute to an increase in freight traffic on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TMTM).

“The construction of the port terminal will be the first Kazakh infrastructure project implemented in Poti, one of the largest ports of Georgia, which is a reference point on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TMTM), which is extremely important for Kazakhstani enterprises in the current geopolitical situation in the world, as well as for the diversification of logistics routes,” he said during the ceremony capsule bookmarks in honor of the start of construction of the multimodal terminal of JSC “Roti Transterminal” Chairman of the Management Board of the Group of Companies “PTC Holding” Timur Karabayev.

According to him, in the first years of operation of the terminal, the main emphasis will be placed on attracting cargo within the framework of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and CASCA+, which will allow processing 80 thousand TEU/year with a further increase in volumes.

This is especially relevant, since the geopolitical situation emerging due to the events in Ukraine has seriously affected global logistics, including the traditional routes of Kazakhstan’s exports and imports. Under these conditions, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TMTM) has gained new relevance, for example, in 2021, 25.2 thousand TEU were transported along this route, in 2022 – 33.6 thousand TEU, in 2023 this figure is projected at 52.9 thousand TEU. Following the results of 6 months of this year on the TMTM route, according to the data of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, cargo turnover increased by 77% and amounted to 1,320 thousand tons.

“We are interested in increasing the transport connectivity of the region and in consistently improving transit conditions. The Government of Kazakhstan is determined to continue multifaceted work to ensure the dynamic development of the Kazakh-Georgian partnership,” Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov said, meeting with his Georgian counterpart Irakli Garibashvili in Almaty on August 1 this year.

The total amount of investments in the project, according to Olzhas Arykbayev, Development Director of PTC Holding, is estimated at 15-20 million US dollars. The financing will be carried out on parity principles by Kazakh and Georgian participants of the project. He also said that the active phase of construction has been underway since September of this year and the commissioning of the first stage of the project is planned in the 1st quarter of 2024. The maximum capacity of the terminal, taking into account the technology of operation, will be 450 thousand TEU/year.

“Since we will use multimodal technologies, that is, to re-process cargo from a universal fleet, vehicles into containers and vice versa, with the possibility of sending cargo across the Black Sea, our terminal will be able to “digest” up to 5.5 million tons of cargo or up to 450 thousand TEU,” Olzhas Arykbayev said. According to him, at the first stage, 3 reach stackers, 1 gantry crane, 1 shunting locomotive, forklifts will be purchased. And the terminal itself will be able to provide customers with the following list of services:

delivery of containers from the port to the terminal and in the opposite direction;

delivery of containers from other terminals and in the opposite direction;

formation of shuttle trains in the Poti – Alat – Poti direction;

reloading of cargo from universal wagons and vehicles into a container and vice versa;

handling of oversized cargo.

The implementation of infrastructure projects, including the construction of transport and logistics terminals on the main international land corridors between the countries of Europe and the People’s Republic of China, is a strategic direction for the development of the PTC Holding Group of Companies.

“When we talk about large cargo flows and serious shippers, we need to rely on someone and something. In this sense, the work with the port infrastructure should be filigree. It should ensure the acceptance, registration, and dispatch of goods,” said Timur Karabayev, head of PTC Holding. According to him, the company’s position has always been unambiguous – to develop logistics infrastructure.

“We have always built our strategy on finding bottlenecks, and where they exist and there is an opportunity to physically “expand” them through the development of logistics infrastructure, that’s where we invested money.  It is she who ensures our competitive position in the market. Studying new routes, we look at the capacity of certain places, and where it is not so high, but it is quite realistic to modernize it for adequate money in an adequate time, we are ready to invest there,” Timur Karabayev said.