On April 24th, the announcement of the candidates for winning the bid for the general contracting project of the construction of three tunnels in the early-start section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway (the section within the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic) was released. The early-stage controlled tunnel project of the section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway within the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic is about to officially start construction next month, with a planned construction period of 6 years.

According to the announcement, the project is located in Naryn Region and Jalal-Abad Region in the southeastern part of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The section connecting the part within China starts from the Torugart Pass at the China-Kyrgyzstan border. After crossing the Moldo Too Mountains via Alpa, it crosses the Arabka River and reaches the Makmal station where a transshipment station is set up. Then, it crosses the Fergana Mountains westward, makes use of the existing railway passage north of Jalal-Abad, extends southward around the city of Jalal-Abad, and sets up the South Jalal-Abad Station until it ends at the border.

The total length of the railway line is 304.94 km. Among them, the standard-gauge section from Torugart (Kyrgyzstan) to Makmal is 167.537 km long, and the broad-gauge section from Makmal to Jalal-Abad is 138.768 km long. There are a total of 20 stations, 46 bridges with a total length of 15.083 km, and 27 tunnels with a total length of 103.86 km. The total length of bridges and tunnels is 117.95 km, accounting for 39% of the total length of the line.

The total mileage of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is approximately 616 km. Among them, the section within China (Kashgar-Torugart) is 213 km long; the section within the Kyrgyz Republic (Torugart-Makmal-Jalal-Abad-Suzak) is 341 km long; and the section within Uzbekistan (Suzak-Andijan) is 62 km long.

According to the construction plan, the section within the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic is a single-track railway, pulled by diesel locomotives (with the conditions for electrification reserved), with a designed speed of 120 km/h. There are 20 stations set up, including the Torugart Port Station, the Makmal Transshipment Station, and the Jalal-Abad Port Station.

The project is planned to invest 33.88 billion yuan, with a planned construction period of 6 years.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway adopts the "standard-gauge + broad-gauge" segmented mode. The section from Kashgar in Xinjiang of our country, passing through Torugart and entering the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic to Makmal, uses a standard-gauge railway (1435 mm), and the section from Makmal via Jalal-Abad to Andijan uses a broad-gauge railway (1520 mm).

The standard-gauge and broad-gauge transshipment yard is set up in Makmal of the Kyrgyz Republic, where the Kyrgyz Republic will build an inland port facing China and Central Asia.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway has gone through a bumpy development process. From the proposal of the idea in 1994, to the signing of the memorandum between China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in 1997, and until June 2024 when China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed the "Intergovernmental Agreement on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Project" (legal agreement) and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Company was established in September, this major China-Central Asia passage, after a delay of a full 27 years, has finally been put on the construction agenda.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is planned to adopt the BOT model (Build-Operate-Transfer). Among them, China is responsible for the construction of the section within China, Uzbekistan is responsible for the upgrading and reconstruction of the section within its territory, and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Co., Ltd. jointly established by China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan is responsible for the financing, construction and operation of the section within the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The total cost of the project is expected to be 8 billion US dollars, of which 4.7 billion US dollars is for the part in the Kyrgyz Republic. According to the terms of the agreement, China will hold a 51% stake in the joint venture, and Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will each hold a 24.5% stake.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is of great strategic significance to our country. Extending westward through this railway, starting from Andijan, passing through the Fergana Basin and the Caspian Sea coast all the way to Iran, it can continue to extend westward through Turkey to Europe, that is, the shortest path of the Eurasian Continental Bridge of the "China-Central Asia-West Asia-Europe" route; at the same time, it can also go southward to the Arabian Peninsula in Iran, that is, the "China-Central Asia-Arabian Peninsula-African Land Corridor". (This article is from the official website of Seetao.com, www.seetao.com. No reprinting is allowed without permission. Otherwise, legal liability will be pursued. If reprinting, please indicate Seetao.com + the original text link.) Editor of the Strategic Column of Seetao.com / Yin Shiqian