The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project is advancing ahead of schedule and may be completed earlier than planned. First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Uzbekistan Railways This Hikmatulla Rakhmetov said on the sidelines of the International Forum on Multimodal Transportation.
According to him, the project is the company's first foreign investment project.
"It is safe to say that this is Uzbekistan Railways' first investment project outside of Uzbekistan. Thanks to the initiatives of our esteemed president and coordinated efforts with neighboring countries, the project is progressing successfully," Rakhmetov told in an interview with the Uzbekistan 24 television channel.
He emphasized that the pace of construction is exceeding all expectations.
"The project is currently ahead of schedule. We had expected to complete it in six years, but given the current pace, we may be able to complete it in four years," he said.
Rakhmetov also explained the benefits of the route's launch.
"Firstly, it reduces the distance between China and Europe, as well as between China and the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, by more than 1,000 km compared to existing routes. This has a direct and significant impact on our rapidly developing economy," he noted.
Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov stated that the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway creates the shortest regional route linking Central and South Asia, while the promising Trans-Afghan Corridor will provide Uzbekistan and the Central Asian countries direct access to the Indian Ocean via Pakistani ports and significantly increase the region's transit potential.
He believes that these two routes will eventually become part of the International Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, "forming a continuous multimodal route from China to Europe."
The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was launched in Jalal-Abad on December 27, 2024. Azamat Sakiev, CEO of the state-owned Kyrgyz Temir Zholu (KTZ), reported that construction could take approximately six years.
The project to build a railway line linking China with Central Asian countries has been under discussion for approximately 25 years. Several route options were considered, including from China through Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan, then on to Turkmenistan, Iran, and Turkey. The parties could not agree on the track gauge, the cost, and the route of the line, which would pass through high-mountain, inaccessible areas. This is expected to reduce dependence on Russia and Kazakhstan.
The international transport corridor will follow a combined route: Kashgar-Torugart-Makmal-Jalal-Abad-Andijan.
The length of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway will be 532.53 km, of which approximately 312 km will run through Kyrgyzstan.
Under the agreement, China will receive 51% of the joint venture, while Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will each receive 24.5%.
The project's cost is preliminarily estimated at $4.7 billion. Half of this sum will be provided by the participating countries from their own funds, in accordance with their respective stakes in the joint venture: China will contribute $1.18 billion, and Kyrgyzstan will contribute approximately $700 million. A presentation to the Kyrgyz parliament on June 19 stated that Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan would each contribute $573 million.
