BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 29
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
Railway Electrification Project (Bukhara-Miskin-Urgench-Khiva Line) within the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Corridor 2
The project will electrify the existing railway line connecting Bukhara, Miskin, Urgench, and Khiva in Uzbekistan.
After electrification, the route will be served by high-speed passenger trains that are already operating on other sections of the Uzbekistan Railways JSC network. This will reduce the travel time between Bukhara and Khiva from the current six hours on the road to two hours. The main tourist destinations Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva will be connected by a high-speed railway, which will significantly increase the attractiveness of Uzbekistan as a tourist destination.
The first component of the project will include the modernization of the railway along with the Bukhara - Miskin - Urgench - Khiva line, including the construction of traction substations and external power supply, the installation of contact networks, the installation of an alarm system, telecommunications, and dispatch control and data acquisition (SCADA), and the supply of machines and equipment for the maintenance of railways.
The second component of the project will be to create an economic corridor for tourism by supporting sustainable tourism, developing a transit-oriented rail corridor, and an e-ticketing system to make rail transport more attractive.
Project financing
The preliminary total cost of the project is estimated at $404.35 million, of which $105.00 million will be financed through the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) loan, $157.51 million from the ADB loan, and the rest will be financed by Uzbekistan Railways JSC (Executing organization) and the government of Uzbekistan.
Project status
Uzbekistan Railways JSC has announced a tender for the construction of an alarm and communication system and a SCADA system.
Deadline for submission of bids: February 9, 2021.
Construction of a road-rail bridge across the Amu Darya
The Amudarya region in the Karakalpakstan Republic is cut off from other regions of Uzbekistan and does not have direct access to Uzbekistan's railway networks.
In August 2020, a proposal was approved for the construction of a new road-railway bridge Shavat - Gurlen - Jumurtau - Kipchak.
The construction of the new bridge will reduce the distance of transportation of goods from Russia and Kazakhstan by 240 kilometers, and the time of transportation of goods by six hours. Thus, the volume of cargo transportation will double and reach 25 million tons per year and the economic effect of 100 billion soums ($9.6 million) per year will increase as these regions of Uzbekistan develop.
In addition, the cost of delivery of inert materials to the Khorezm region from the Karakalpakstan Republic will be reduced, which will reduce the cost of construction of facilities and infrastructure.
Uzbekistan Railways JSC has developed four options for implementing the project, taking into account the minimum size of the river width at the bridge construction site, the number of artificial structures, the number, and type of demolished objects, as well as the transfer of communications.
At the same time, the best option was chosen, according to which the total length of the new combined (rail-road) bridge is 413 meters, the height is 11.25 meters, and the width is 8.5 meters. The estimated length of the railway from Shavat station to Kipchak station amounts to 79 kilometers.
The project is being implemented at the expense of Uzbekistan Railways JSC's own funds and attracted credit resources. The construction of the bridge will be carried out by the Kuprikkurilish Trust Unitary Enterprise, which is part of the Uzbekistan Railways JSC. Currently, this enterprise is the largest in Uzbekistan and has significant experience in the construction of railway and road bridges and overpasses.
Project status
Construction of the railway-road bridge is scheduled to begin in January 2021
China - Kyrgyzstan - Uzbekistan new transport corridor
The route starts from the city of Lanzhou (Gansu province) and runs through the Kyrgyz cities of Ishkertam and Osh to the final point in Tashkent. The total length of the route is 4,380 kilometers, and the transportation time is 7-10 days. Compared to the traditional route through the Kazakh Khorgos, time savings will be up to five days.
The route was implemented under the supervision of the Gansu government and the leadership of the Lanzhou Trade Department, with the active work of China Railway Lanzhou Bureau Group Co., Ltd., China Railway Urumqi Bureau Group Co., Ltd., China Railway Container Transport Co., Ltd. and other divisions of the China Railway Group.
The construction of the China - Kyrgyzstan - Uzbekistan railway was carried out by the Chinese company China National Machinery Imp. & Exp. Corporation.
This is the first multimodal international route that includes the transfer of goods from train to cars and again to train.
The new route is expected to be the first part of an international corridor from China to Europe without transit through Kazakhstan and Russia. The second part of the route will pass through Turkmenistan, the Caspian Sea, and Turkey.
The government of Russia has allocated 200 million rubles ($3.15 million) for the preparation of a feasibility study (feasibility study) for the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway.
Project status
In June 2020, the first container train on the route departed from the Dongchuan logistics center in Lanzhou city to Tashkent. Part of the route between Kashgar (China), Irkeshtam, and Osh will be the road route. Then the cargo will be transported by train again.
Construction of a new terminal at Samarkand international airport
After the completion of the construction of a new passenger terminal, aircraft parking areas, and a runway, Samarkand International Airport will meet international requirements, and the capacity will reach simultaneously for departure and arrival at 600 passengers per hour (1,200 passengers in total).
Some $62 million was invested in the reconstruction of Samarkand airport.
The project is being carried out by the Turkish engineering and construction company Kiklop and the domestic Primetime Group. The contractor is Enter Engineering.
It was noted that after the completion of the facility, this international airport will be able to receive up to 1.4 million passengers per year, which will have a positive impact on the development of tourism in the region.
Project status
To date, work continues here on the reconstruction of the runway, expansion of aircraft parking, modernization of airport radar systems, and installation of night lighting systems.
Completion of construction works and commissioning is scheduled for the second half of 2021.
Construction of the Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar railway
The transport access of the countries of Central Asia, the CIS, and the Russian Federation to the ports of Pakistan opens up the broadest prospects for increasing international trade.
The key to ensuring transport connectivity between the largest railways of the CIS and Eastern Europe, Iran, and Turkey, as well as the PRC with the railways of Pakistan and India lies in Afghanistan. It is the planned Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar railroad that will form a new world paradigm for access through Pakistani ports (Gwadar, Karachi) to the countries of the Persian Gulf.
The Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar road project thus forms a unified railway infrastructure of the CIS countries with the countries of South Asia. The implementation of the project creates unique prospects for the development of the economy of Afghanistan, simultaneously forming interregional and intercontinental transit flows.
The projects of high-voltage power transmission lines Surkhan - Puli-Khumri, and CASA-1000 will be implemented practically along the new railway line.
The construction of the Surkhan-Puli-Khumri power transmission line will increase the supply of electricity from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan by 70 percent - up to six billion kWh per year. Moreover, the Surkhan - Puli-Khumri power transmission line may become an integral part of the CASA-1000 project and facilitate the supply of electricity to Pakistan and further to the countries of South Asia.
On October 20, 2020, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Afghanistan signed an agreement to finance the construction of the Surkhan - Puli-Khumri power transmission line from Uzbekistan. The bulk of the funds will be directed to construction work, which is planned to be carried out by Uzbek contractors.
The total cost of the project is $150 million, of which $118 million is invested by the Afghan side (including $110 million - ADB loan funds), and $32 million - by the Uzbek side.
A corresponding agreement on the construction of this transmission line between JSC National Electric Grids of Uzbekistan and Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) will be signed in the near future.
The presence of power lines will save significant financial resources at the stage of construction and further operation of the railway, which in the future will allow it to be electrified. Electric traction in high mountain areas has advantages over diesel locomotive.
The length of the proposed railway from Mazar-i-Sharif to Peshawar, according to calculations, amounts to 573 kilometers.
In general, the implementation of the trans-Afghan railway project will reduce the time and cost of transporting goods along the North-South corridor by 30 percent.
Thus, the delivery time of goods from the Russian border (Ozinki station) to Karachi will be 16-18 days, and from Termez to Karachi - 8-10 days. According to calculations, already in the first years of operation, the volume of traffic can grow up to 10 million tons.
Project status
The Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar railway is planned to be built at the expense of the US Financial Corporation for International Development, which intends to attract Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Construction is expected to begin in September 2021.
The heads of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan will send a joint request to raise funds from the US Financial Corporation for International Development and other international financial institutions for the construction of the Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul railway.
According to the information, in December 2020, the ministers of transport of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan will hold negotiations on an operational study and selection of the most economically profitable direction of the Trans-Afghan railway.
Construction of the Mazar-i-Sharif – Herat railway
In early December 2017, following the visit of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to Uzbekistan, the governments of the two countries signed an agreement on the construction of the Mazar-i-Sharif - Sheberghan - Maimana - Herat railway. The length of the line amounts to 760 kilometers. The agreement provides for the participation of the Uzbek side in the design and construction of a new road, as well as for the involvement of the Afghan side of financial resources for the implementation of the project.
The construction of the railroad will be important for Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, as well as for all countries in the region. The implementation of the project will make it possible to get from Afghanistan to China in three days through the Uzbek Andijan.
The Mazar-i-Sharif – Herat project envisages the construction of more than five thousand linear and multimodular junctions, including a railway from Herat to Kunduz. Its cost will be about $11.2 billion.
Project status
As of January 2018, an appraisal of the project was completed, and financing was negotiated with commercial banks in Uzbekistan and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @romakayeva
