Tajikistan has expressed interest in joining the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway project, construction of which began earlier this year.
According to Asia-Plus, Tajik Transport Minister Azim Ibrohim discussed the country's potential involvement in the initiative with China’s Minister of Transport, Liu Wei. The meeting took place on July 2 in Tianjin, China, during the 12th Meeting of Transport Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states.
"The talks focused on China’s support for the further development of the multimodal corridor China–Tajikistan–Uzbekistan–Turkmenistan–Iran–Turkey–Europe, as well as Tajikistan’s possible inclusion in the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway project," the statement said.
The China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway aims to link the railway systems of these three countries and extend further through Turkmenistan, Iran, and Turkey to connect with the European railway network as part of the New Silk Road transport framework.
After lengthy deliberations over the route through Kyrgyzstan, the so-called "northern" corridor was chosen. It will run from the Chinese city of Kashgar (the terminus of China’s rail line in southern Xinjiang) through the Torugart border crossing, the Arpa Valley (in the Fergana Range), then via the villages of Kosh-Debe and Makmal, and the city of Jalal-Abad into Uzbekistan.
Initially, the proposed length of the railway was 454 km, with 268.4 km passing through Kyrgyzstan and 165 km through China. Updated figures now place the total length at 532.53 km — 158.04 km in China (Kashgar–Torugart) and 304.94 km in Kyrgyzstan.
Back in December 2014, a preliminary agreement was signed in Dushanbe on the development of a broader China–Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan–Afghanistan–Iran railway corridor. The route was expected to run from Kashgar through Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Herat in Afghanistan, eventually linking up with Iran’s railway system.
At one stage, the Iranian government pledged $1 million in non-repayable aid to Tajikistan to fund a feasibility study for the section of railway spanning Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China. The Tajik Ministry of Transport and Iran’s “Metro” company signed an agreement, later ratified by Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament.
The Tajik segment of the railway — expected to stretch about 270 km — was to begin in Vahdat, run through the Karategin Valley, and reach the Kyrgyz border at Karamyk. However, funding for the feasibility study from the Iranian side was suspended. The first and only tranche of $200,000 was disbursed in 2013.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
July 7, 2026