Officials from China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a deal June 6 in Beijing for a new railway to connect these three countries. Signifying the project’s importance, the three national presidents watched the signing by livestream, and each spoke. The transport corridor has already been in use for test block trains, going all the way to Afghanistan, but the Kyrgyzstan segment is by truck.
The rail length will be 523 km, with 213 km in China, 260 in Kyrghyzstan and 50 km in Uzbekistan. In Kyrgyzstan the project involves building more than 50 tunnels and 90 bridges in the mountains, some of which are over 3,000 meters high
President Xi Jinping, Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov and Uzbekistan President Mirziyoev stressed the intercontinental importance of the project, and the exemplary cooperation involved. The project has been under discussion for over 30 years. Now after the feasibility study was completed in 2023 by the China Railway Construction Corporation, the state railway companies of the three countries have agreed on a joint venture for follow-up.
