Eastern Uzbekistan builds ground part of railway

Uzbekistan Railways State Joint-Stock Railway Company (SJSC) has completed the construction of the ground part of the Angren (Tashkent region) - Pap (Namangan region) railroad, which will connect the Fergana Valley with other regions of the country, the company said.

The message said that the construction and electrification of the two sections of the railway with a total length of 104 kilometers were completed on both sides of the tunnel, which is being built under the Kamchik pass.

Excavation, drilling and blasting work was fully completed, 6 overpasses, 13 railway bridges, four junctions, four stations, two train stations, 285 artificial and water facilities were built, the message said.

The length of the branch is 123,100 km, including 19,100 km being a tunnel.

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 $1.8 billion is financed through the state budget, Uzbek railway company's own funds and loans of the international financial institutes. Construction is to be completed in late 2017.

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.

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.

/By Trend/