Kazakhstan plans to increase the annual capacity of the Middle Corridor to 20 million tons as it seeks to expand its role as a major transit link between East and West.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the plans during the first Central Asia-Republic of Korea Summit, according to Kazinform.

Tokayev said Kazakhstan aims to raise the total volume of transit cargo moving through its territory to 100 million tons per year, with the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, receiving particular attention.

“Over the past six years, freight volumes along this corridor have increased fivefold. In the foreseeable future, we intend to increase its capacity to 20 million tons per year,” Tokayev said.

He also said Kazakhstan sees potential to integrate the Middle Corridor with the TRIPP transport initiative and link it with South Korea’s multimodal transportation routes through the Kazakhstan-China logistics terminal at the port of Lianyungang.

Tokayev said combining the potential of these routes could create a continuous transport and logistics chain connecting South Korea, Central Asia and Europe.

The Middle Corridor connects China with European markets through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Kazakhstan says freight volumes along the route increased by 62% in 2025, while container traffic rose 2.7 times to 56,500 containers.

The corridor currently has capacity for around 6 million tons of cargo and up to 182,000 containers annually. Kazakhstan has previously set a target of increasing its capacity to 10 million tons per year by 2030.