The Angren-Pap Railway as an Important Link of the China Central Asia-Europe International Transit Corridor

THE ANGREN-PAP RAILWAY AS AN IMPORTANT LINK OF THE CHINACENTRAL ASIA-EUROPE INTERNATIONAL TRANSIT CORRIDOR Due to its geographical location the Republic of Uzbekistan is far away from seaports and international transit routes leading to them. Therefore, since getting its independence in 1991, the country has begun construction of new railways in order to create integral railway system. Over the years of independence, Uzbekistan implemented a number of large-scale projects on modernization and development of its railway infrastructure. To date, Uzbekistan managed to build over 1,200 km of new railways and to renovate nearly 3,800 km of railways. As a result, the total length of railways in the country exceeds 6,500 km. In 2015, over 67.7 million tons of cargo and more than 20 million passengers were transported to their destinations by the railway of Uzbekistan.

Over the last 10-15 years, the construction the Navoi-NukusUchkuduk-Sultanuvaystag railway with a length of 342 km and of the combined bridge over the Amu-Darya River and the Tashguzar-BoysunKumkurgan railway with a length of 223 km were completed. The first one allowed to expand opportunities for the development of rich natural resources of the northern region of the country, while the second one, crossing the Hissar mountain ridge at an altitude of 1.8 km above the sea level, contributed to the development not of Uzbekistan alone, but also of the entire Central Asian region, significantly increasing the transit role and the export potential of the countries. However, the project of construction of a new electrified Angren-Pap railway with a length of 124 km, which is to connect the Andijan, Fergana and Namangan regions of the country, has the greatest strategic importance for the development of the railway transportation of the country. Without exaggeration, this project will allow to reduce transport expenses and to increase the carrying capacity of the railway infrastructure due to construc-tion of railway communication between the Uzbek part of the Fergana Valley and other regions of Uzbekistan. The head of the state, Islam Karimov, first announced the decision on construction of the Angren-Pap railway on April 26, 2013, during his visit to the Andijan region. Further, in order to create a China – Central Asia – Europe International Transit Railway Corridor a Decree of the President of Uzbekistan PP-1985  “On  measures  of organization of construction of the electrified Angren-Pap   railway”   was adopted on June 18, 2013.

The total project cost is $1.634 billion. Funding is mainly provided by the public budget, the state railway company   the   “O'zbekiston   Temir   Yollari” and by the Fund of Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan.

Besides, international financial institutions such as the Eximbank of China, the World Bank and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) have also provided loans for the railway construction. The project consists of the following components: (a) construction of the railway infrastructure, the total cost of which was estimated at $1.439 billion; (b) electrification of the railway ($154 million); (c) launching the power supply distribution network($35 million), which would be totally financed by the IBRD; providing technical assistance to   the   “O'zbekiston   Temir   Yollari”:   (d) for construction of the railway ($0.5 million); (e) for development of the railway logistics ($1 million); and (f) providing assistance with the project implementation ($4.5 million).

Construction of the railway was started in July 2013. In September 2013, the  Chinese  company  “China  Railway Tunnel   Group”   and   the   “O'zbekiston Temir  Yollari” signed a contract worth $455 million. Under the contract the Chinese company has pledged to build the railway tunnel through the Kamchik pass. The total length of the tunnel will be 19.2 km. The unique feature of the project is that the railway tunnel through the Kamchik pass will be built at a height of more than 2.2 km above the sea level. Thus, the tunnel will become the 13th longest tunnel in the world and the first one among the CIS countries. During the construction special attention is paid to the quality of work and to the compliance with international standards. The experts observing and controlling the process are the specialists of the German company DB International GmbH.

It should be noted that the AngrenPap railway fits well into the Chinese Silk Road Economic Belt initiative, announced by the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, in Astana in 2013. It also contributes to the implementation of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program, in the framework of which, transport and trade facilitation strategy, focused on six transport corridors, is being implemented. The Angren-Pap railway line is located along the 2nd corridor linking China to the Caucasus. It was planned to be commissioned in the first half of 2016. However, at the end of February 2016, the Uzbek side announced   that   the   “O'zbekiston Temir   Yollari”   had   already   completed the construction of the Angren-Pap railway. The launch of the first train on the new railway is scheduled for April 15, 2016.

Thus, the construction of the AngrenPap railway will not only assure secure connection of the central parts of Uzbekistan and the Fergana Valley, but will also serve as an important link in the transnational China – Central Asia – Europe transport corridor. It will radically change the possibilities of Uzbekistan to increase the export potential of the country and to access the international market creating a solid foundation for the development of the fields of construction and industry, transport and communications. Written by Erkin Baidarov, Eurasian Research Institute, Kazakhstan were involved in the simulated seek and destroy mission of terrorist headquarters. During the exercise the troops drilled counter-sabotage actions in unfamiliar mountainous terrain.

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Prepared by Lidiya Parkhomchik, Hayal Ayca Simsek, Saule Akhmetkaliyeva, Dinara Taldybayeva. Meiramgul Issayeva