Tashkent, Uzbekistan, March 19
By Demir Azizov- Trend:
Uzbekistan Railways State Joint-Stock Railway Company completed electrifying 39.5 kilometers of the Angren-Pap railway line on the eve of the international holiday of Novruz, the company said.
"The railway line between the Angren station and the western portal of the tunnel with a total length of 39.5 kilometers was fully electrified," the statement said.
Some 1,174 metal and reinforced concrete poles, 1,058 consoles and 71 portal structures were installed in the section, the company said.
Uzbekistan started construction of the Angren-Pap new electrified railway in July 2013. The railway line with a length of 129 km would run through the Kamchik pass and link the three oblasts in the east of the country - Andijan, Namangan and Fergana - with the remaining part of Uzbekistan.
The project worth $1.9 billion is financed through the state budget, Uzbek railway company's own funds and loans of the international financial institutes. The construction is planned to be completed in late 2017.
A 19-kilometer tunnel under the Kamchik pass is planned to be constructed as part of the project.
Uzbekistan Railways State Joint-Stock Railway Company and China Railway Tunnel Group Co. Ltd signed a contract in 2013 to lay a tunnel. The project cost was $455 million. The Export-Import Bank of China allocated $350 million worth loan for the construction of the tunnel in 2014.
Kamchik pass is located on the crest of the Kurama Range at the altitude of 1,200 meters above the sea level. The sole road between the Tashkent province and the Pap district of Namangan province runs through this pass. This road, which is of strategic importance for the country, is periodically blocked in winter due to the avalanche threat.
Once commissioned in July 2016, this road will allow to securely link the provinces of Fergana Valley with Uzbekistan's central part, to complete the creation of the sole railway transport system throughout the entire territory of the country. It will also serve as the link of the new international transit railway corridor China-Central Asia-Europe.
The total length of the railways in Uzbekistan is 4,100 kilometers. The railway accounts for 60 percent of cargo and over 75 percent of passenger transportation.
Edited by SI