Problems and prospects of the project of china-kyrgyzstan-uzbekistan railway

Abstract

It is necessary to consider the possible mutual benefits not only for the three states that are directly involved in the project but also for the benefits of enhanced regional integration. This article will provide a number of recommendations for problems and prospects of the project of China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway. The need for such transport links should be seen in the light of both Uzbekistan’s and Kyrgyzstan’s economic under-development and having enhanced transport links to the wider world could go a long way towards revitalizing these struggling economies. For both landlocked states, (in Uzbekistan’s case ‘Double Landlocked’) connecting to the outside world has been a big issue since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Central Asia inherited a railway network that in many cases left the newly independent states with transport infrastructure gravitating more towards Moscow than with the rest of the region (or even with other parts of their own countries). Additionally, in the case of Kyrgyzstan more than Uzbekistan.