A new multimodal transport corridor linking China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan has officially opened, marking the completion of the long-planned China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway project, which began construction on 27 December 2024.
Valued at approximately $4.7 billion, the 486-kilometre line seeks to transform freight flows across Central Asia, offering faster, more efficient connections between East and West.
Railway project: Decades in the making
The railway backbone was negotiated for over 25 years before construction works formally started. On 27 December 2024, the governments of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and China signed investment agreements following years of feasibility studies and route consultations. President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov described the project as a “strategic bridge between East and West,” emphasising its potential to unlock opportunities in trade, tourism and industry.
Route, technical features and scale
Beginning in Kashgar (China), the line crosses Torugart, Makmal and Jalal-Abad (Kyrgyzstan), before terminating in Andijan (Uzbekistan). Of the total distance, approximately 312 km crosses the Kyrgyz territory. Given the rugged, high-altitude terrain, project engineers built 81 bridges and 41 tunnels, spanning over 120 km in total tunnel length. The railway uses two different gauges: 1,435 mm from the Chinese border to Makmal, and 1,520 mm onward, enabling integration with Chinese rail standards as well as Central Asian networks.
Financing and stakeholder contributions
The total cost of the railway is estimated at $4.7 billion. China holds a 51% stake in the joint venture, while Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan each hold 24.5%. China contributes around $1.18 billion, Kyrgyzstan about $700 million, and Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan also committed $573 million each through their national budgets. A non-commercial Chinese loan of approximately $2.35 billion supports the financing, with negotiations underway with China Eximbank and the National Bank of China. In mid-2025, Uzbekistan allocated $255 million to the project company’s charter capital.
Corridor launch and operational dynamics
The first freight movement — lighting equipment, machinery and consumer goods — departed from Kashgar in seven vehicles. The route combines rail, road and sea: goods move by rail from China into Central Asia, traverse Uzbekistan, then proceed to Turkmenistan via Turkmenbashi Port, with onward maritime shipping across the Caspian Sea toward Türkiye and Europe.
Impact, capacity and future prospects
By 2035, the railway is expected to carry up to 5 million tonnes of cargo annually, more than half of it transit freight. Stakeholders anticipate the corridor will reduce logistics costs, cut transit times, and provide Central Asia with alternatives to older northern transit routes through Russia and Kazakhstan. Observers also view the project as dovetailing with the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthening the region’s capacity for trade, cross-border cooperation and infrastructure investment.
Russia's health watchdog said on Tuesday that no cases of plague had b...
An Azerbaijani citizen died and another is missing after a cargo ship was attacked by a drone in the Black Sea, near the coast of Romania on Monday...
Azerbaijan is seeking to attract more European visitors by improving air connectivity and raising its profile as an international tourism des...
Australian counterterrorism authorities are examining the links of the co-pilot accused of attacking the captain and attempting to take control of a flydubai flight bound for Israel. Authorities in New Zealand have also said they are investigating reports the suspect had spent time in that country.
Russia's health watchdog said on Tuesday that no cases of plague had been detected among anyone who had come into contact with a Siberian plague institute laboratory worker who died last week, and locals said their lives had barely been disrupted.
Right-wing Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro will face leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a runoff of the presidential election later this month, after he exceeded expectations in Sunday's first-round vote with a slight lead over the incumbent.
Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned, with Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), appointed as acting oil minister, according to Iranian state media.
Candidates elected to Bosnia and Herzegovina's three-member presidency declared victory after preliminary unofficial results showed Denis Becirovic leading the Bosniak seat, Darijana Filipovic ahead in the Croat seat and Zeljka Cvijanovic likely retaining the Serb seat.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) project could become a cornerstone of economic transformation in Armenia and the wider region, while boosting investment and regional connectivty.
Central Asian countries are strengthening sanitary and quarantine controls amid the situation in Russia’s Irkutsk region. Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have introduced preventive measures following the death of an employee of a plague research institute in the city of Shelekhov.
Kazakhstan’s former navy chief, Kanat Niyazbekov, has been arrested after 14 servicemen died during military exercises in the Caspian Sea in September, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citing law enforcement authorities.
The German-Azerbaijani Connectivity Conference 2026 commenced on 6 October in Baku under the title “Mobilising Finance for Infrastructure, Transport, Logistics, Green Energy, and Digitalisation along the Middle Corridor.”
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye on Monday agreed at an emergency meeting in Riyadh to put their Mecca Joint Defence Agreement into practical effect, deciding to deploy agreed military forces and capabilities rapidly to the kingdom as Houthi attacks and a Saudi-backed offensive in Yemen continue.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment