EDB at the CAWS 2026 warehouse summit in Tashkent: perception of Central Asia's warehouse infrastructure as the "opportunity of the decade" and participation prospects
Tashkent, April 16, 2026.
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) sees the Central Asian warehouse infrastructure as the "opportunity of the decade" and intends to significantly increase investments in this segment. This was stated by Alexey Rogachevsky, EDB Director for Uzbekistan, in the speech he delivered at the Central Asia Warehouse Summit (CAWS 2026).
Speaking at the Warehouses and Finance session, he presented the Bank's approach to investments in logistics infrastructure, including project selection criteria and priorities for the Eurasian Commodity Distribution Network (ECDN) mega-project.
The key focus was placed on Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan as the most dynamically growing warehouse logistics markets in the region. Uzbekistan has been demonstrating steady growth in demand for modern warehouse facilities due to the development of e-commerce, consolidation of the country's transit position and active government support.
The EDB focuses on financing infrastructure objects with integration effect – primarily on facilities located along the international North-South transport corridors and the Trans-Caspian route. Priority is given to multimodal logistics hubs and "dry ports", as well as to specialized warehouse solutions: pharmaceutical, refrigeration and agrologistic centres.
The development of warehouse infrastructure is one of the key elements of the EDB's ECDN mega-project that focuses on the formation of a modern commodity distribution network in Eurasia. The Bank expects the region's total foreign trade turnover to increase by more than 20% by 2030.
According to the EDB report "Warehousing Infrastructure in Eurasia: An Opportunity of the Decade" (October 2025), Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have been emerging as key hubs of Eurasian logistics and distribution, thus strengthening the region's role as a link between China and Europe, Russia and South Asia/Middle East, as well as between the markets of the South Caucasus and the Caspian basin.
"To the EDB, Uzbekistan is not just a country of presence, but one of the key nodes of the future Eurasian commodity distribution network. Together with Kazakhstan, it can become the main distribution hub of Central Asia. We see here the "opportunity of the decade" and are ready to act as an anchor investor in the formation of this infrastructure," said Alexey Rogachevsky.
The CAWS 2026 summit, organized by IBC Global, brought together more than 200 participants and 35 speakers from 10 countries, thus confirming the strong interest of international businesses and investors in the development of the region's warehouse and logistics infrastructure.
Additional Information:
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is a multilateral development bank investing in Eurasia. For 20 years, the Bank has worked to strengthen and expand economic ties and foster comprehensive development in its member countries. By the end of December 2025, the EDB’s cumulative portfolio comprised 326 projects with a total investment of US $19,6 billion. Its portfolio consists principally of projects with an integration effect in transport infrastructure, digital systems, green energy, agriculture, manufacturing and mechanical engineering. The Bank adheres to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ESG principles in its operations.
The EDB is implementing three mega-projects as part of its 2022–2026 Strategy: the Eurasian Transport Network, the Eurasian Agricultural Goods Distribution System and the Central Asian Water and Energy Complex.
The EDB Media Centre:
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