Kazakhstan has taken the lead in Central Asia. Around 45% of all investment in the region’s ongoing and planned transport projects is concentrated in the country, with their combined value reaching $32.6 billion, DKNews.kz reports.
The figures come from the Eurasian Development Bank’s report “Transport Corridor Infrastructure: Observatory and Interactive Map of Eurasian Transport Network Projects — 2026”. The EDB tracks 114 projects worth more than $71.75 billion across Central Asia and 402 projects worth over $345 billion across the broader Eurasian region.
$32.6 billion and 55 projects through 2035
Kazakhstan is implementing or planning 55 projects to develop international transport corridors through 2035.
Their total value is estimated at $32.6 billion. By comparison, the entire Central Asian project portfolio exceeds $71.75 billion. This means that close to every second dollar of regional transport infrastructure investment is linked to Kazakhstan.
The scale also reflects the country’s transit role. According to the EDB, in 2026 more than 85% of all overland freight transit between China and Europe passes through Kazakhstan.
For Kazakhstan, transport infrastructure is therefore more than a question of domestic road and railway quality. The capacity of these corridors directly affects the country’s ability to retain freight flows between the major markets of Asia and Europe.
Nearly $23 billion is going into roads
Road infrastructure accounts for the largest share of Kazakhstan’s investment portfolio.
According to EDB calculations, investment in ongoing and planned road projects totals $22.71 billion. Another $6.25 billion is allocated to railway projects.
In other words, roughly seven out of every ten dollars in Kazakhstan’s transport project portfolio are tied to roads.
Over the past 15 years, Kazakhstan has already invested around $35 billion in its transport sector and built more than 2,500 kilometers of railways, according to the EDB.
Astana–Kostanay road is the largest project
The EDB’s five largest ongoing projects in Kazakhstan include several major highways and one railway line.
The most expensive is the reconstruction of the Astana–Kostanay–Russian border highway, valued at around $4.09 billion.
It is followed by the reconstruction of the Uralsk–Atyrau highway, including a bypass around Uralsk, at $2.542 billion, and construction of the Center–West highway on the Astana–Shalkar–Kandyagash section, at $2.511 billion.
Another $1.732 billion is allocated to the construction and reconstruction of the Kyzylorda–Saksaulsk road with a bypass around Kyzylorda, while the Mointy–Kyzylzhar railway is valued at $1.42 billion.
The size of these projects highlights the infrastructure priority: increasing the capacity of long-distance transit routes linking central Kazakhstan with western, northern and international corridors.
Middle Corridor projects account for $12 billion
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, commonly known as the Middle Corridor, remains one of Kazakhstan’s key transport directions.
The EDB estimates investment in ongoing and planned projects along the route in Kazakhstan at around $12.01 billion.
Other corridors crossing Kazakhstan involve even larger project portfolios: TRACECA-related projects are valued at $16.36 billion, while projects linked to the Central Eurasian Corridor total $15.55 billion. These figures should not be added together because one infrastructure project can serve several corridors simultaneously.
For Kazakhstan, the Middle Corridor is particularly significant as a route through the South Caucasus and onward to European markets.
China has provided more than $7 billion for Central Asian transport
China remains one of the largest participants in the region’s infrastructure development.
According to the EDB, Central Asian projects involving Chinese companies have a combined value of more than $12 billion, while financing from Chinese sources — including loans, grants and direct investment — exceeds $7 billion. Most of these projects are part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The EDB identifies the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway corridor as the largest regional project involving China.
The route does not pass directly through Kazakhstan. In the longer term, it is expected to provide an additional freight route toward Türkiye and the EU via Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea.
For Kazakhstan, the emergence of new routes means stronger competition for transit traffic. Its current share of more than 85% of China–Europe overland freight gives the country a strong starting position, but neighboring states are also accelerating railway and highway construction.
National budgets finance more than 62% of projects
Governments still carry most of the financial burden of Eurasia’s transport buildout.
More than 62% of the total value of Eurasian Transport Network projects is financed from national budgets. Private capital is involved in 123 of the 402 projects, and almost half of those are related to logistics and warehousing infrastructure.
Multilateral development banks are involved in 48 projects. In Central Asia alone, their financing is used in 43 of the region’s 114 projects.
The EDB also points to a major infrastructure risk: when neighboring sections of the same corridor are developed at different speeds, bottlenecks emerge, while completed infrastructure may fail to reach projected passenger and freight volumes.
For Kazakhstan, the stakes are substantial. More than 85% of China–Europe overland transit currently passes through the country, while its portfolio of international transport corridor projects through 2035 is valued at $32.6 billion.
Earlier, we reported on growing freight traffic between Kazakhstan and China and the role of new transport routes.
