After a long search to line up financing, officials from China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have signed an investment agreement to build a railway that could reduce costs and cut transit times for Westward-bound freight rail traffic. But it is still going to be years before the first freight train rolls on the new route, and the route's profit potential remains uncertain.
In his New Year's address, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, long the railway's most ardent proponent, portrayed the route as an economic game-changer for the Central Asian nation, casting the project as a catalyst for economic growth in a variety of areas. 'This path will provide new opportunities for the entire region, strengthen the economy and improve the lives of millions of people,' the Trend news agency quoted Japarov as saying. 'Special attention will be paid to the opening of industrial enterprises, the creation of new jobs and the increase of the population's income. The social sphere will reach a new level.' The new route would stretch roughly 300 miles, connecting Kashgar in China to Andijan in Uzbekistan via points in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan's difficulty in financing its section of the project, along with China's reluctance to open its purse for Bishkek, had presented the biggest obstacles for the project. A railway company established by the three participating states will oversee construction of the almost 200-mile-long Kyrgyz segment, currently projected to take six years. Top officials from the three states participated in a ceremonial launch of the project December 27 near the city of Jalal-Abad in southern Kyrgyzstan. 'The construction of the railway demonstrates China's commitment to aligning its development with the interests of other countries to foster a win-win situation through greater openness,' the website of China's State Council quoted Zhong Feiteng, an expert at the Chinese National Institute of International Strategy, as saying