ASTANA (KazInform) – Kazakhstan will invest $20 bln in development of transport infrastructure by 2020, First Deputy Minister of Investment and Development of Kazakhstan Zhenis Kassymbek informed.

“We plan to invest about 20 billion US dollars in development of the transport infrastructure by 2020. Mainly, it regards eastern and western directions including Caspian region and farther – Azeirbaijan, Georgia and Turkey”, Z. Kasymbek told at the business forum titled Kazakhstan-Batumi.

Besides, he added that a lot of money is spent on construction of the new Beineu-Zhezkazgan railroad and on development of the second railway checkpoint “Altynkol-Khorgos” in order to ensure Chinese transit in the direction of the Persian Gulf and the Caucasus. These measures will permit to increase the trade turnover with Georgia and the Caucasus. As earlier reported, Z. Kassymbek announced that the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Georgia had dropped to $115 mln. In this regard, he called the sides for activation of cooperation to create a breakthrough in the trade turnover and investment fields.

The vast territory of Kazakhstan spans across 2.7 mln km². With a low population density, dissociation centres of industry and agriculture, and remoteness from world markets, the need for different modes of transportation in Kazakhstan are vital.