A worker transports cargo with a forklift at the Urumqi International Land Port Area in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in July. [CAI ZENGLE/FOR CHINA DAILY]

URUMQI -- Bedel Port on the China-Kyrgyzstan border will open in 2024, Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of the people's government of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, said on Tuesday.

Erkin Tuniyaz made the remarks while delivering the regional government work report at the annual session of the Xinjiang people's congress, which opened on Tuesday.

Bedel Port is located more than 70 kilometers from Uqturpan county in Xinjiang, about 80 kilometers from Karakol in Kyrgyzstan, and 350 kilometers from Almaty in Kazakhstan.

The chairman also said that in 2024, Xinjiang will accelerate efforts to keep its Khunjerab Port open throughout the year. Khunjerab Port is a crucial gateway for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, handling a cumulative import and export freight volume of over 200,000 tonnes from 2016 to 2020.