Uzbekistan, Tashkent, April 29 / Trend, D. Azizov /
Uzbekistan plans to build a 125 kilometer-long electrified railway to the Fergana Valley by 2016, a representative of the Uzbekistan Railways State Joint Stock Railway Company (SJSRC) told Trend on Monday.
In accordance with a preliminary feasibility study on the project, the new Angren-Pap rail line, which will connect the central part of Uzbekistan and the Fergana Valley (the eastern part of the country), will pass through the Kamchik passage, where construction of two tunnels is considered. Track will also be laid along the northern border with Tajikistan, a source said.
Currently, company specialists have begun to develop the final version of the feasibility study, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.
The preliminary cost of the project is estimated at $1.9 billion; it will be financed through the state budget, Uzbekistan Railways and through foreign investment.
It is expected that construction will begin in early 2014.
The height of the Kamchik passage is over 2,200 meters above sea level. The only navigable road traverses the passage between the Tashkent region and the Pap district of the Namangan region.
There is a total of 4,200 kilometers of railways in Uzbekistan, of which, about 1,000 kilometers are electrified, including more than 700 kilometers within last seven years. In total, the country plans to electrify about 2,000 kilometers of railway.
The Uzbek railroad handles about 60 percent of turnover in the country and 80 percent of the total export and import cargo.
