Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Mar.10
By Demir Azizov- Trend:
State Joint-Stock Railway Company (SSRC) Uzbekistan Railways has signed a contract with the German DB International GmbH (Deutsche Bahn AG branch) to provide consulting services within the frameworks of the project of electrification of Karshi-Termez railway section in southern Uzbekistan, SSRC announced March 10.
The project worth $388.23 million includes electrification of railway section with length of 325 kilometers, the modernization of telecommunication devices, upgrades of equipment on repair of electric locomotives, procurement of machinery and equipment.
The project will be financed at the expense of the own funds of Uzbekistan Railways and the loan of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the amount of $220.6 million.
The loan agreement between the government of Uzbekistan and JICA was signed in 2012.
Karshi-Termez railway section includes a new railway line Tashguzar-Baysun-Kumkurgan, which was built in 2007 with financial assistance from Japan.
Railway line Tashguzar-Baysun-Kumkurgan with the length of 223 kilometers has linked the two southern regions of the country - Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya, bypassing the territory of Turkmenistan, reducing passenger and freight traffic by 170 kilometers.
The new project is a logical continuation of the old one and aims to strengthen the capacity of the Karshi-Termez railway section. The project is planned to be completed by the end of 2017.
The total length of railways in Uzbekistan is 4,200 kilometers, about 1,000 kilometers of which have been electrified. In total, it is planned to electrify about 2,000 kilometers of railways in the country.
The railroad of Uzbekistan accounts for about 60 percent of cargo turnover within the country and nearly 80 percent of the total volume of export and import cargo shipments.
Edited by CN