Baku, Azerbaijan, April 8
By Fakhri Vakilov – Trend:
Uzbekistan plans to acquire two high-speed passenger electric trains Talgo AVE 250 and four railway carriage from the Spanish company Patentes Talgo S.L.U, Trend reports with reference to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan published for discussion on April 8 by the railway carrier of Uzbekistan.
The resolution states that Uzbekistan Railways, as a result of direct negotiations, signed a contract with Patentes Talgo S.L.U.
Under the contract, the company will buy two high-speed passenger electric trains Talgo 250, four economy-class cars, spare parts and equipment for service, totaling 57.5 million euros.
Currently, Uzbekistan Railways uses four Talgo AVE 250 trains called Afrosiyob. To date, the Afrosiyob train runs on Tashkent-Samarkand, Tashkent-Shakhrisabz and Tashkent-Bukhara routes.
Moreover, Uzbekistan Railways is considering the possibility of building another high-speed railway to Samarkand, which will only be used by Afrosiab. This will shorten the journey to about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Currently, a high-speed electric train travels the 333 kilometers of the way between the cities in 2 hours and 8 minutes.
The draft resolution also notes that the government of Spain will provide a loan in the amount of 57.5 million euros through the Corporate Internationalization Fund of Spanish Companies (FIEM).
The loan is granted for 30 years with a grace period of 10 years at a rate of 0.05 percent per annum.
The contribution of Uzbekistan is equivalent to 15.3 million euros - 14.37 million euros in the form of tax and customs benefits, as well as with own funds of Uzbekistan Railways in the equivalent of 934,400 euros.
The project is expected to be implemented in 2019-2021.
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