Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The start of construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is scheduled for October 2024. This was announced by the Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan Ilkhom Mahkamov in an interview with the O’zbekiston 24 channel.

On 6 June, a ceremony was held in Beijing to sign the Agreement on the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which the minister called a historical document, the result of many years of negotiations.

Makhkamov emphasized that after the signing of the agreement, there is still a lot of work to be done. The working groups will develop plans, agree on technical details, timing, stages of the project and mechanisms for its financing.

The first stone of the project is planned to be laid in October 2024, he said. 

The railway route will pass through difficult mountainous terrain: “Kashgar – Torugart – Makmal – Jalal-Abad – Andijan”, the length of the line will be 486 km.

The creation of a Joint Project Company in Kyrgyzstan was discussed at the government level. China’s share in the company will be 51%, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan 24.5% each.

It is expected that by 2023 the volume of transportation on the new railway will reach 8 million tons per year, by 2024 - 10 million tons, and
 by 2050 - 13.5 million tons.

Delivery times for goods will be reduced by 7 days. Uzbekistan can receive economic benefits from cargo transit for US$150-200 million per year.

The project will improve export-import communications not only for Uzbekistan but also for Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and other countries. It has great transit prospects, connecting two large regions - China and the Hindustan Peninsula - with one railway line, which was previously possible only by sea.

The new railway will also allow Central Asian countries to access the Pacific Ocean through China, and China to the Persian Gulf.