Sarzha Terminal boosts Middle Corridor

The newly inaugurated Sarzha Terminal increases capacity at Kuryk Port in Kazakhstan which sits on the trade route connecting the Caspian and Black seas.

“The Middle Corridor will have a big economic impact on the region,” said Stefan Muntoiu, business development manager at Jan De Nul, a key contractor working on the Kuryk project.

“The Turkish, Georgia and Kazakhstan governments are making firm decisions to develop it. We are proud to take part in the development of this important trade route.”

The Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, is considered a reliable alternative to the northern route through Russia, or the southern route via the Suez Canal. However, the existing sea ports currently act as bottlenecks for cargo, hence Kazakhstan’s push to step up infrastructure in the region.

The ferry complex began operating in March 2017 with plans to increase capacity to 10 million tonnes by 2030.

The universal reloading terminal will be able to move about 3 million tonnes of container, general and bulk cargos whilst capacity of the liquid cargo terminal will be 2.9 million tonnes.

The production complex of Kuryk Port will be aimed at servicing oil and gas projects in Kazakhstan sector of the Caspian Sea, carrying out ship repair, production of caissons and metal structures.

Soil conditions in the region proved challenging with Jan De Nul deploying its cutter suction dredger Vesalius plus specialised crew to carry out extensive dredging works to deepen the port’s access channel and turning basin.