Crossroads Asia | Economy | Central Asia

Progress on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, Some Challenges Remain

Under discussion for 20 years, the CKU Railway is finally under construction with some hurdles surpassed and other challenges ahead.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has described the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) Railway project as “not just a transport corridor, but an important strategic bridge connecting the countries of the East and West.” In 2024, then-Chair of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Akylbek Japarov referred to it as “a road of life.”

The CKU Railway project, connecting Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang to Andijan in Uzbekistan via Kyrgyzstan, has been under discussion for more than 20 years, with progress sluggish due to a range of complicating factors. While the economic, infrastructure, and political benefits are clear for all three states, challenges to the project have arisen related to Sinophobic sentiments among some opposition, the risks of a debt trap, disagreements over track gauge size, security and environmental concerns, and hesitation over increasing dependence on other regional powers. 

Despite these challenges, some of which are yet to be completely solved, the project finally took a concrete step forward with the signing of a final construction agreement in Beijing on June 6, 2024. Since July 2025, the CKU has been under active construction. 

The final plan charts a 530 km pathway, with about 304 km passing through Kyrgyzstan’s Tien Shan mountains. The route will connect Kashgar to Andijan, passing through Torugart, Makmal, and Jalal-Abad in Kyrgyzstan.

The project features 50 bridges and 29 tunnels. Kyrgyzstan’s mountainous terrain, and the region’s seismic risks, pose significant engineering and construction challenges. The total length of the tunnels is 104.83 km, with excavation ongoing in all of them, including eight tunnels longer than 5 km. The plan features three major tunnels – Naryn No. 1, Kosh-Dobo, and Fergana – each over 12 km long. 

Earthworks have started on some sections, with roadbed formation underway, and 192.323 km of temporary roads have been built along the railway’s path to aid in construction. Four transformer substations have been installed, 2,095 utility poles have been constructed, and 259 km of power lines have been strung, also to support the massive project.  

Around 2,000 Kyrgyz citizens are involved in the ongoing construction, out of a total of 5,000 workers. By the end of 2026, officials are aiming to have 5 percent of the CKU built.

A joint project company (JPC) was established in Kyrgyzstan under local law, with China holding 51 percent, Kyrgyzstan 24.5 percent, and Uzbekistan 24.5 percent. The project is valued at $4.7 billion for the Kyrgyz section, with China lending $2.35 billion – half the total – and the remaining 50 percent to be invested by the other countries, with Kyrgyzstan contributing around $700 million. Kyrgyzstan will finance half of its share – 12.25 percent – from the state budget, and China will provide the remaining portion as a $305 million loan for a 25-year term.

Based on conservative estimates from the feasibility study, the initial freight volume is expected to be between 5 and 8 million tonnes annually, increasing to 13-15 million tonnes over the long run. In November 2025, Hikmatulla Rakhmetov, the head of Uzbekistan’s state railway company, Temir Yullari, said that construction of the CKU could be completed two years early, with previously planned completion set for 2030. 

Among the challenges the three states have overcome via compromise is the issue of gauge. They settled on a track gauge of 1,435 mm for the line from Torugart to Makmal, which is considered narrow gauge by Chinese standards. Near Makmal, however, the track will widen at a transshipment station, marking the start of the 1,520-mm-gauge section. The length of the Makmal-Jalal-Abad section is 145 km, and Torugart-Makmal is 160 km. A wheelset exchange facility will be set up in Kyrgyzstan at Makmal station. A narrow-gauge line will connect to this station from China, and a broad-gauge line will extend farther toward Uzbekistan. The transshipment station will perform functions such as breaking up and assembling freight and transfer trains; loading, unloading, transshipping, and sorting containers and cargo;........

© The Diplomat