The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) railway corridor could be completed by 2028–2029, two years earlier than the originally projected 2030 timeline, according to TRACECA Secretary General and Uzbekistan’s Deputy Minister of Transport, Jasurbek Choriev.
Speaking at the Tashkent International Investment Forum, Choriev said construction began in 2024 and is progressing with financial support from Uzbekistan and the deployment of specialized Chinese technologies to address the challenging mountainous terrain in Kyrgyzstan.
The information was reported by The Caspian Post, citing UzDaily.
The railway is expected to become a major Eurasian trade artery, shortening the route between China and Europe by approximately 1,000 kilometers and significantly reducing transit times and costs. Freight volumes are projected to reach 15 million tonnes annually by 2032 and 20 million tonnes by 2040.
Representatives of international financial institutions highlighted the corridor’s transformative potential. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has expressed interest in financing the project, while the World Bank described the railway as a key component of Uzbekistan’s emergence as a regional logistics hub.
Choriev also said that a feasibility study for the proposed Trans-Afghan railway corridor linking Uzbekistan with Pakistan’s ports of Karachi and Gwadar is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The 649-kilometre project, estimated to cost around $7 billion, would provide Central Asian states with direct access to seaports and could substantially expand trade between Central Asia and South Asia.
According to The Caspian Post, international investors from the UAE, Qatar and Kazakhstan are among those engaged in discussions on potential participation in the Trans-Afghan corridor, which is increasingly viewed as a strategic complement to the CKU railway and the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor in reshaping regional connectivity and trade. /// nCa, 23 June 2026