Almaty SkyHub, a planned logistics hub in Kazakhstan's largest city, is moving from paper to construction. In late September, Kazakhstan's national postal operator Qazpost and China's YTO Express agreed to speed up work on the project, which will be built in phases over roughly five years, starting with warehousing and the core facilities needed to launch logistics services. Two days later the hub came up again when President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met executives from YTO Express and Pinduoduo. Pinduoduo's head of international business said a joint project with the company would launch in Kazakhstan in October, though the official readout did not say what form it will take.
Talks in China: warehouses first, capacity later
According to Kazakh-language outlet Turkystan.kz, which reported the meeting on September 23, Qazpost CEO Bekezhan Zhakeyev (chairman of the management board) met YTO president Yu Weijiao during a working trip to China. The two sides discussed broadening their partnership, increasing the volume of joint business and further building out Kazakhstan's logistics infrastructure. YTO said it was prepared to consider additional investment in Kazakhstan and to expand its operations there, and the companies also looked at additional agreements to grow their joint venture.
Almaty SkyHub was at the top of the agenda. The partners agreed to accelerate construction and move the project into active implementation. Per the report, the first phase covers warehousing infrastructure and the main facilities required to start logistics services; later phases will scale up the hub's production and logistics capacity. Once complete, the hub is expected to lift international parcel-handling volumes and open new room for cross-border e-commerce. Zhakeyev also toured a YTO information and logistics center to look at its parcel-processing technology.
The presidential meeting: a gateway to the EU, the EAEU and Central Asia
On September 25, the Central Communications Service under the President reported that Tokayev had received YTO Express executive director Zhou Jian and Pinduoduo's head of international business Wen Peichen to discuss cooperation in logistics and e-commerce. Tokayev noted that Kazakhstan aims to raise e-commerce to 20% of total trade by 2030 and said working with Chinese partners could help it get there ahead of schedule.
The meeting paid particular attention to Almaty SkyHub, which is designed for fast handling of goods bound for the European Union, the Eurasian Economic Union and Central Asia. It is expected to give a boost to transport and logistics in southern Kazakhstan.
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Tokayev spoke positively of Qazpost-YTO, the joint venture set up by the two companies, citing its broad use of smart IT systems and logistics automation. According to the readout, the venture has delivered 12.5 million parcels to date. Zhou Jian briefed the president on YTO Express's experience in building supply chains and digitizing logistics.
Wen Peichen said a joint project with Pinduoduo would be launched in Kazakhstan in October this year. The readout gave no details on the format, scope or partners involved.
What to watch
Taken together, the two reports sketch a clear sequence for Almaty SkyHub: build warehouses first, then expand capacity, with the hub geared toward cross-border trade and international parcels serving the EU, EAEU and Central Asian markets. For Chinese companies running e-commerce, warehousing or delivery operations in Kazakhstan, the next signals to watch are the timeline for the first-phase warehouses, any additional agreements for the Qazpost-YTO joint venture, and how the Pinduoduo project actually takes shape in October.
The total investment, site location and land area, phase-by-phase dates and the operating model of the Pinduoduo project have not been officially disclosed. Future announcements from Qazpost, YTO and the presidential office should be treated as the reference.
资料来源：
Central Communications Service under the President of Kazakhstan (ortcom.kz), Sept 25, 2026 (Russian): https://ortcom.kz/ru/deyatelnost-glavy-gosudarstva/1790339401
English version of the readout: https://ortcom.kz/en/deyatelnost-glavy-gosudarstva/1790339401
Turkystan.kz, Sept 23, 2026 (Kazakh): https://turkystan.kz/article/289169-qazposta-men-yto-qazaqstannyn-logistikalyq-infraqurylymyn-damytuga-nietti
Republication of the readout – Kazinform: https://kaz.inform.kz/news/kazakstanda-pinduoduo-men-zhana-zhoba-kazan-ayinda-ske-kosiladi-a24d61f0/
Republication of the readout – Tengrinews: https://tengrinews.kz/kazakhstan_news/tokaev-vstretilsya-kitayskimi-biznesmenami-kakie-proektyi-609407/
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