CKU Railway corridor is on the agenda! China’s New Megaproject in Central Asia
Recently, Sayid Mukhtar Saidkasimov, former Deputy Prime Minister and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, gave an interview to Chinese domestic media. During the interview, Saidkasimov mentioned that the "Belt and Road" initiative is driving forward many important projects: the Kamchik Railway Tunnel, the longest tunnel in Central Asia, is now in operation; four natural gas pipelines connecting China and Central Asia pass through Uzbekistan's territory; and the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway corridor is on the agenda. In fact, news about the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway has always been of great interest to everyone.
On May 16, 2022, at the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit held in Moscow, Kyrgyz President Zhaparov sincerely expressed to Russian President Putin that the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is as important as "air and water" to Kyrgyzstan, and Putin finally agreed to the construction of it. On September 16, the relevant departments of China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Construction Project (in Kyrgyzstan)". On the occasion of the 9th anniversary of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the launch of the CKU Railway is exciting.
After the railway is completed, the transportation line between China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will be shortened by 900 kilometers, thereby reducing transportation costs and commodity prices. At the beginning of this year, China proposed to strive to increase the trade volume between China and Central Asian countries to 70 billion US dollars by 2030. The completion of the CKU Railway will help achieve this goal.
However, According to the latest news, this railway has not yet begun construction. the construction of the CKU Railway, which was planned since 1997, has been stagnant. What are the obstacles? This railway does not pass through Russia, and it seems that it has no direct connection with Russia, but why does it need to obtain the consent of the Russian government before it can officially start construction? What is the profound significance of the construction of this Railway?