A $4.7bn financing package drawn largely from China has been announced for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, Kyrgyzstan state media reports.
The railway will be developed by a joint venture set up by the three countries and a syndicate of Chinese banks, including the China Development Bank and China Eximbank.
Of the estimated total $4.7bn cost, $2.3bn comes from a 35-year loan from China.
The remainder will be funded 51% by China and 24.5% each by Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
The project entails building 50 bridges and 29 tunnels, comprising around 40% of the total route.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported last December, when construction began, that the line would run from Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region to Andijan in Uzbekistan.
It would shorten the rail route between China and Europe by 900km and cut up to eight days off the transit of goods from one end of Eurasia to the other, Xinhua said.
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