Agreement on co-op signed in Samarkand on CKU railway construction project

Bishkek, Sept. 15, 2022. / Kabar /. On the sidelines of the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)in Samarkand (Uzbekistan), an agreement was signed on Wednesday between the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Kyrgyzstan, the Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan, the State Committee for Development and Reform of China on cooperation on the construction project of the China-Kyrgyzstan- Uzbekistan” (section on the territory of Kyrgyzstan). The press service of the Kyrgyz president reported that the agreement was signed by Minister of Transport and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic Erkinbek Osoev, Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan Ilkhom Makhkamov and Chairman of the State Committee for Development and Reform of the People's Republic of China He Lifen, who took part in a video conference format. The document provides for joint assistance in the successful completion of the feasibility study for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway construction project for a section in the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic along the combined version of the Torugart - Arpa - Makmal - Jalal-Abad route. The sides will actively cooperate and jointly support the First Design and Survey Institute of the Chinese Railway Corporation in conducting a feasibility study in Kyrgyzstan. The deadline for completion of all work on the feasibility study (including the time of the assessment) is no later than June 1, 2023. The sides intend to distribute the costs of the feasibility study between the parties in equal shares, concluding a tripartite agreement for the financing of the feasibility study. The construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is an important project in the transport sector of the Kyrgyz Republic. The new railway corridor will become the southern branch of the Eurasia Continental Bridge and open access to the markets of Southeast, West Asia and the Middle East. This route will be able to ensure the delivery of goods from China to Kyrgyzstan, as well as to the countries of Central Asia and the Middle East, including Turkey and further to the European Union. The project will increase competitiveness in the international transit market by reducing the distance and time of cargo delivery. The implementation of the project will have an overall positive socio-economic effect in the development of the economy of Kyrgyzstan and significantly contribute to the expansion of transport services provided to the population, the development and improvement of transport infrastructure.