Construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway could be completed at least a year ahead of schedule. This was announced by Uzbek Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov, who noted that approximately 17% of the construction work has been completed to date, Gazeta.uz reports.
Construction of eight major bridges is ongoing at the site, with over 10,000 workers and over 7,000 units of specialized equipment involved. According to the minister, ongoing oversight by the leadership of the three countries is accelerating the project's implementation.
At the same time, Tashkent, Bishkek, and Beijing are working to reduce border crossing times, eliminate transport and logistics barriers, digitalize permitting, and subsequently transition to a permit-free freight transportation system.
The minister also reported that the volume of freight traffic between China and Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan has already increased sevenfold, confirming the growing demand for this new transport route. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev previously called the highway's construction "the construction project of the century," capable of transforming the geo-economic situation of the entire region.
The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is one of the most significant infrastructure projects in Central Asia in recent decades. For Uzbekistan, it opens up fundamentally new opportunities to strengthen its status as a key transport and logistics hub in the region.
The new route will significantly reduce the distance and time it takes to deliver cargo between China and Central Asia, increase the competitiveness of Uzbek exports, and create additional conditions for the growth of foreign trade and investment.
The project's strategic impact is equally important. The highway diversifies existing transport routes, reducing dependence on the traditional northern route through Kazakhstan, and will also expand Uzbekistan's access to international transport corridors leading through Kyrgyzstan to China and further to East Asian markets.
Combined with the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and corridors through Turkmenistan, Iran, and Turkey, the new railway will create a more resilient and flexible Eurasian transportation network.
Furthermore, the project's implementation could stimulate the development of the border regions of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, increase container traffic volumes, and accelerate the formation of new production and logistics clusters along the route.
In the long term, the railway will strengthen the economic interconnectivity of China and the Central Asian states, increase transit revenues for project participants, and strengthen Uzbekistan's position as a key link in the initiative to develop transport links between East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
August 3, 2026