BISHKEK, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The commencement ceremony for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was held in Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan, on Friday. Representatives from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan highlighted the railway's potential to promote regional connectivity and prosperity.
Sanjar Mukanbetov, director of the National Institute of Strategic Initiatives under the President of Kyrgyzstan, told Xinhua that the support of China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan's leaders has made the railway project possible.
"Residents and nearby settlements will directly benefit from the economic impact of the project," Mukanbetov said. "It will certainly reshape regional logistics, bringing significant economic benefits."
According to the current progress of the project, the construction of the Kyrgyz section of the railway project is scheduled to begin in July 2025 and last for six years, the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. said.
Igor Shestakov, an expert from Kyrgyzstan, said the railway would help showcase Belt and Road cooperation projects and significantly benefit projects under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Kyrgyz economist Iskender Sharsheev said he believed that the project would attract more investments in energy, transport, and agriculture.
"The infrastructure will open opportunities for logistics, product processing, and export-oriented production," he said, adding that the railway will drive change, fostering economic growth and social stability in the region.
Abdurasul Abdukhalilov, head of Uzbekistan's Tashkent regional department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the railway will link China with European and Middle Eastern markets, facilitating freight transport.
Calling the railway the "road of the new century," Azamat Seitov, head of the Laboratory of Anthropology and Conflictology at Uzbekistan's University of World Economy and Diplomacy, said there is no doubt that it will open up new opportunities for trade, tourism and industry, while strengthening regional economic interconnectivity. ■
