China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Project Reaches Implementation Stage – Part One

nCa ReportThe Chin-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway project has reached the implementation stage. The construction work is expected to start any time between August and October this year.A ceremony was held in Beijing on 6 June 2024 to sign an agreement on the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. The agreement was signed by the heads of transport departments of the three countries.According to the media reports, the Chinese company China Railway International will design and build the CKU. China Railway International is a subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited.China Railway International may engage enterprises from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan as subcontractors if they have the appropriate experience and capabilities.The authorized organizations for the construction of the railway are:– from the Chinese side – China Railway International under the state corporation “Chinese Railways”;– from the Kyrgyz side – the state enterprise “NC” Kyrgyz Temir zholu “;– from the Uzbek side – joint stock company “Uzbekistan Temir Yollari”.For the construction of a section of the railway on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, the three announced organizations will establish a Joint Project Company. Shares in the authorized capital will be distributed as follows:– an authorized organization of the Chinese side or its subsidiary holding company – 51%;– authorized organization of the Kyrgyz side – 24.5%;– authorized organization of the Uzbek side – 24.5%.China Railway International, “Kyrgyz Temir Zholu ” and “Uzbekistan Temir Yollari” will contribute capital to form the authorized capital of the project company for the specified shares.The specific amounts of the authorized capital will be determined in the constituent documents of the project company.Kyrgyzstan will provide support in the form of land plots, exemption from customs and tax payments, as well as assistance in working with bank accounts and currency exchange.An important aspect of the project is ensuring safety and comfort for residents of areas passing through the construction area. Kyrgyzstan will take responsibility for social and environmental impact assessments, as well as land acquisition, demolition and resettlement work.Kyrgyzstan is expected to exempt staff from China and Uzbekistan from the need to obtain work permits.The feasibility study was developed by the First Design Institute of China Railway Corporation.The railway route will pass through difficult mountainous terrain along the route: Kashgar-Torugart- Makmal-JalalAbad-Andijan.The total length of the railway is expected to be 486 km, of which:– across the territory of China – 174 km;– on the territory of Kyrgyzstan – 311.8 km.The length of the section with a gauge of 1435 mm (Torugart-Makmal) will be 169.6 km.According to the feasibility study, it is planned to change the gauge from 1435 mm to 1520 mm at the Makmal railway station .The length of the section with a gauge of 1520 mm (Makmal-JalalAbad) will be 142 km.In total, it is planned to build 18 railway stations, 81 bridges with a total length of 26 km, 41 tunnels with a total length of 120 km.“The total estimated cost of selling the site in Kyrgyzstan is approximately $4.7 billion,” Uzbekistan Temir Yollari reports.The maximum speed on the railway is expected to be up to 120 km/h.The total cost of the project is perhaps around USD 8 billion, of which the segment through the territory of Kyrgyzstan may cost about USD 4.7 billion.The cargo flow on the route may reach 13.5 million tons by 2050.Delivery times for goods will be reduced by 7 days. Uzbekistan can receive economic benefits from cargo transit in the amount of $150-200 million per year.China Railway International Group (CRIG) is the overseas business development subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited (CREC). Parent CREC is the main force in China’s railway construction. It built more than 90 thousand km of China’s main railways, or 2/3 of the total length of railways in the PRC, including 90% of the electrified railways of the PRC.CREC also built 55% of China’s total high-speed rail, including:– railway Beijing – Tianjin (China’s first high-speed railway);– railway Wuhan – Guangzhou (the world’s first passenger line with a speed of 350 km/h);– Beijing – Shanghai railway (the longest high-speed railway in China);– railway Harbin – Dalian (the world’s longest high-speed passenger line passing through mountainous areas);– Beijing – Guangzhou railway (the world’s longest high-speed railway).Among the foreign projects: railway China – Laos, Jakarta – Bandung (Indonesia), Hungary – Serbia, Boten – Vientiane (Laos), Tongi – Bhairab Bazar (Bangladesh), electrified railways in Iran, high-speed railway in Northern Venezuela.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 China and the South Asia with one railway line, which was previously possible only by sea.The new railway will also provide Central Asian countries with access to the Pacific Ocean through China, and China with access to the Persian Gulf. /// nCa, 1 July 2024 [based on media reports and open sources] [to be continued] Related posts: