LX Pantos, Kazakhstan to cooperate on logistics

South Korea's LX Pantos said on Thursday that it plans to strengthen its logistics business in Central Asia, focusing on Kazakhstan.

Lee Yong-ho, CEO of LX Pantos, recently met with Kazakhstan's Minister of Transport, Marat Karabayev, in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, to discuss logistics cooperation between the two countries.

The two sides primarily discussed ways to cooperate on container cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), which connects Europe and Central Asia via the Caspian Sea.

Unlike the existing Asia-Europe transport routes, such as the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Trans-China Railway, the TITR is a transcontinental railway that does not pass through Russian territory, gaining attention for its stability and efficiency in logistics.

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are engaged in discussions and infrastructure investment for TITR.

To implement the cooperation measures, LX Pantos signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PTC Group, the largest logistics company in Kazakhstan.

Established in 2002, PTC Group is Kazakhstan's leading integrated transport service and logistics investment group, operating the largest railway and logistics infrastructure in Central Asia.

The two companies agreed to establish a strategic partnership and closely cooperate by expanding freight transportation between Europe and Asia via TITR, utilizing their logistics assets, and jointly developing export cargo from Kazakhstan.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com