On January 26, the "Tender Announcement for the General Contracting Project of the Main Trunk Road of the Automobile Transport Access Road and the Main Trunk Line of Temporary Power Supply Construction for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway (Section within the Kyrgyz Republic)" was released. This marks that the access roads and construction power supply works before the commencement of the Kyrgyz section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway are about to start, and the main works of the project's road, bridge and tunnel sections will officially commence construction in July this year.

On December 27 last year, the launching ceremony of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway project was held in Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan. The section within Kyrgyzstan is the most difficult to construct, with a planned construction period of 6 years; the section within China, being relatively less difficult to construct, is expected to start construction within the next one to two years.

Launching ceremony of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway project

1. Tender Conditions

This project has been approved by the competent government departments of China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic, with funding from the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Company Limited. The tenderee is the Kyrgyzstan Branch of China Railway International Co., Ltd., and the tender agency is China Railway Materials International Tendering Co., Ltd.

2. Project Overview The section within the Kyrgyz Republic (hereinafter referred to as the Kyrgyz section) is located in Naryn Region and Jalal-Abad Region in the southeastern part of the Kyrgyz Republic. The line connects with the section within China, starting from the Torugart Mountains at the China-Kyrgyzstan border, crossing the Moldo Too Mountains via Alpa, then crossing the Alabuka River to Makmal where a transshipment station is set up, then heading west across the Fergana Mountains, utilizing the existing railway corridor north of Jalalabad, extending south around Jalalabad city with an additional Jalalabad South Station, and ending at the border. The total length of the line is 304.94 km, of which the standard-gauge section from Torugart (Kyrgyzstan) to Makmal is 167.537 km, and the broad-gauge section from Makmal to Jalalabad is 138.768 km, with a total of 20 stations; bridges 15.083 km/46 units, tunnels 103.86 km/27 units, with a total bridge-tunnel length of 117.95 km and a bridge-tunnel ratio of 39%.

Schematic diagram of the preliminary planned alignment of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway project

3. Scope of Tender Main works of the automobile transport access roads: construction of automobile transport access road sections A, B, C, D, E and G, all of which are trunk lines.

The project is located in the areas under the jurisdiction of Naryn Region and Jalal-Abad Region in Kyrgyzstan. The longitudinal transport trunk construction roads of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway are divided into six sections, including newly built Section A of 49.52 km; newly built Section B of 28.02 km; newly built Section C of 22.21 km; newly built Section D of 8.38 km; newly built Section E of 10.04 km; and reconstruction and expansion of Section G of 1.35 km.

Main works of temporary power supply: construction, maintenance and power supply of temporary power supply trunk lines and substations. Including: 4 connections to 110kV power sources, 4 110/35kV centralized substations, 197.13 km of 35kV power supply trunk lines (purely temporary), and 68 km of 35kV power supply trunk lines (permanent-temporary combined).

This tender is divided into 1 lot, with the lot number ZJWTLDL-1. The estimated tender amount for this project is 300 million yuan.

4. Planned Construction Period

From March 9, 2025 to August 24, 2025 (excluding construction preparation), totaling 169 calendar days (subject to the contract signed by both parties), with priority given to ensuring that the three tunnels (Jamandavan No. 1 Tunnel, Kazarman Tunnel and Fergana Mountain Tunnel) can commence construction on schedule;

the remaining sections shall be completed and open to traffic by June 20, 2025 to meet automobile transport needs; power transmission along the entire line shall be completed by July 31, 2025; and ancillary works and project handover and acceptance shall be completed by August 24, 2025.

Railway construction

According to the approved feasibility study report, the section within Kyrgyzstan is a single-track railway using diesel locomotive traction (with electrification conditions reserved), with a design speed of 120 km/h, and 20 stations including Torugart Port Station, Makmal Transshipment Station and Jalalabad Port Station.

Kyrgyzstan will build a transshipment yard for standard-gauge and broad-gauge railways at Makmal to facilitate the transfer of passengers and goods between railway networks of different gauges.

Railway construction

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is an important part of the southern corridor of the China-Europe Railway Express. The existing Eurasian routes cannot meet the growing freight demand of the world economy and the risk-resistance needs brought about by geopolitical fluctuations. The completion of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway will connect the Asia-Pacific region at one end and the whole of Europe at the other, providing a new solution for Eurasian transport.

Once the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is completed, it will become the shortest overland corridor connecting China with Central Asian countries. From East Asia to the Middle East and Southern Europe, the railway transport distance will be shortened by about 900 km compared with the present, and the travel time will be reduced by 7 to 8 days.