Kazakhstan to start building rail link between Southeast Asia and Europe
Published:
30 December 2004 y., Thursday
Kazakhstan will start building a railway link next year connecting Southeast Asia with the European Union, Transport Minister Kazhymurat Nagmanov said Wednesday.
The 3,000-kilometre link is estimated to cost $3.5 billion to $4 billion US and is to be completed within 15 years. It will connect China via Kazakhstan with Turkmenistan and Turkey.
The link is designed to be an alternative to the Trans-Siberia railway in Russia's Far East, which also connects Asia with Europe, as well as to ocean shipments. Kazakhstan and Russia foresee that freight transit between Europe and Asia will be very lucrative.
Once built, the Kazakh link will have an advantage over the Russian alternative: the Kazakh railroad will be of international standard, while the Russian railway is 12.7 centimetres wider, designed to slow an enemy during the world wars of the 20th century. This results in delays at borders since trains need to have their wheels changed.
Nagmanov said transit from Southeast Asia to Europe via Kazakhstan will take 10 days. The flow of cargo is planned to reach 35 million to 40 million tons a year by 2010, and ultimately 100 million tons.
Šaltinis:
story.news.yahoo.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Most EU countries continue to meet deadlines for incorporating single market rules into national law, contributing to economic growth and job creation.
more »
Japanese officials unveil their new bullet train, capable of travelling at speeds of 320 km per hour (198 miles per hour).
more »
The first International Security Technology Exhibition, KIPS 2011, will be held on 23-26 February 2011 in Kiev (Ukraine). The motto of the exhibition is ‘There can never be too much security!’
more »
The world's highest restaurant opens in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, located 400 metres above ground in Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower.
more »
The rights of consumers will be clarified and updated, whether they shop at a local store or buy goods on line, under new EU rules as amended by the Internal Market Committee on Tuesday.
more »
MEPs on Wednesday gave their green light for the Council to conclude an Interim Economic Partnership Agreement with Papua New Guinea and Fiji, two countries of the Pacific Region with significant exports to the EU.
more »
Report sets 10 priorities for tackling the bloc's main economic challenges, launching the first ever ‘European semester'.
more »
China's first capsule hotel ready to open its doors in Shanghai, aims to capture slice of booming leisure budget travel market.
more »
Declaration by Michel Barnier on the start of three new authorities for supervision.
more »
On 1 January, Estonia adopted the euro as its official currency and the changeover is running smoothly and according to plan.
more »