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Kazakhstan Invests $40B, Cuts Rail Transit, Courts EU Partnership

6/23/2026

Summary

Story summary

Kazakhstan presented the Middle Corridor as a cornerstone of its EU partnership bid during President Tokayev’s Brussels visit.
It invested $40 billion to upgrade 5,000 km of rail, cutting the Xi’an-to-Georgia transit time from 55 days to 18 days and aiming to boost crude oil shipments from 65 million to 100 million tonnes within five years.
EU officials called the corridor a “global gateway flagship” and urged digitalisation and transparent regulations to attract investment.

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Story summary

Kazakhstan presented the Middle Corridor as a cornerstone of its EU partnership bid during President Tokayev’s Brussels visit.
It invested $40 billion to upgrade 5,000 km of rail, cutting the Xi’an-to-Georgia transit time from 55 days to 18 days and aiming to boost crude oil shipments from 65 million to 100 million tonnes within five years.
EU officials called the corridor a “global gateway flagship” and urged digitalisation and transparent regulations to attract investment.