China is finally moving forward with plans to build a new railway to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, with analysts saying the project will play an important role in deepening Chinese ties across Central Asia and beyond.
China Railway posted a business tender on its procurement website in late November, stating that the Kyrgyzstan section would have a planned investment of 33.9 billion yuan (US$4.7 billion) and construction was expected to be finished by 2030.
According to analysts, the line is designed to be just the first component in a much wider rail network linking China with countries across Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
“The railway has great potential to be extended and serves as a skeleton network for east-west and north-south connections,” said Zhu Yongbiao, a professor in international relations at Lanzhou University. “For example, Uzbekistan’s route can stretch to Pakistan via Afghanistan.”
Connecting lines may also be built to extend the railway to Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey, said Zhao Long, deputy director of the Institute for Global Governance Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.
