The launch of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan- China railway project, in particular, the field work milestone, depends on the stabilization of the pandemic, the Ministry of Transport said in a statement.
The project, which will connect China with the countries of Central Asia, has been discussed for almost 20 years. Several route options were considered, including from China through Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan, then to Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey. The parties cannot agree on the track gauge, as well as on the cost of building the highway, which will pass through the high-mountain hard-to-reach areas, and its route.
The next meeting of the working group on the implementation of the project took place the other day. The parties discussed the project financing model presented by the Chinese side, the coordination of routes and field research, as well as the development of a tripartite action plan for 2021.
"After the stabilization of the epidemiological situation, in agreement with the technical working group, the coordination of the railway route and the conduct of field research work have been announced," the statement said.
During the meeting, the parties pointed to the need to find a compromise in resolving the project financing and, first of all, determining the routes.
Earlier it was reported that the Uzbek authorities had supported Torugart-Arpa-Kosh-Dobo-Makmal-Jalal-Abad route as the best option in the Kyrgyz section with a length of 280 km.
