Terminal subsidiaries
On the fringes of the German government’s recent Central Asia summit, staged in September, Uzbekistan Railways signed a memorandum of cooperation to establish a joint venture with the Rhenus Group. It will expand and operate two intermodal terminals.
An agreement signed recently in Berlin in the presence of Ilhom Mahkamov, the Uzbek transport minister, envisages the partners establishing two joint ventures involving Uztemiryulkonteyner, a subsidiary of Uzbekistan’s railway enterprise, and the German firm Rhenus.
The overall aim of the projects is to expand and operate two road-rail intermodal terminals in the cities of Andijan, in the Fergana Valley, and in Samarkand. In addition, the partners have agreed to implement strategic measures to expand railfreight capacities in the Central Asian country and thus increase freight transport by rail.
A 30-year presence in the region
Tobias Bartz, the Rhenus Group’s chairman of the board of management, said that “in the coming years we expect to see an increase in demand for the transport of containerised goods, which we’ll connect to Europe’s transport networks along the middle corridor of the classic Silk Road.” Bartz considers the handshake in Berlin to represent an opening of a new chapter in the company’s almost 30-year history in the region.
Uzbekistan has more than 35 million inhabitants, making it the most populous country in Central Asia by far. It is thus at the heart of a greater region that is home to about 94 million people. In addition, the country is experiencing solid economic growth and plays an important role linking China, Turkey and Europe.
The Rhenus Group also operates its own entities in Uzbekistan’s neighbour Kazakhstan, in the greater South Caucasus region and further afield in the Asia-Pacific region.