Kazakhstan Secures $300M to Develop Middle Corridor

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and Standard Chartered have allocated $300 million (in Swiss franc equivalent) to Kazakhstan’s national railway operator to develop the Middle Corridor.

The funds will be used to construct a 130-kilometer electrified railway bypass around Almaty, The Caspian Post reports via IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop's message on X.

Faster, more reliable trade across the Middle Corridor, linking East Asia and Europe.@IFC_org, @MIGA, and @AIIB_Official are providing up to $300m to help build a 130km electrified Almaty Railway Bypass—cutting congestion by >40% and transit times by up to 24 hours.… pic.twitter.com/VimjxErfDo

— Makhtar Diop (@Diop_IFC) January 13, 2026

Diop said that the project would reroute freight traffic around the country’s largest city, addressing a longstanding infrastructure bottleneck. He added that it would increase capacity and reliability along the Middle Corridor connecting East Asia and Europe, and that the bypass was expected to reduce congestion around Almaty by more than 40 per cent and cut cargo delivery times by up to 24 hours.