(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, December 5. Excavation work has begun on 18 of the 29 planned tunnels on the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, and construction is underway on 17 of the 50 railway bridges and several culverts, Trend reports via the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan.

This information was disclosed during Prime Minister Adylbek Kasymaliev's visit to the ongoing tunnel construction site in the Tosh-Kutchu section.

The project currently engages over 5,000 workers and utilizes 5,695 units of specialized machinery. Excavation work has commenced on 18 of the 29 planned tunnels, while construction is well underway on 17 of the 50 railway bridges, along with numerous culverts.

Spanning nearly 305 kilometers, the railway will traverse key locations including Torugart, Arpa, Kosh-Dobo, Makmal, and Jalal-Abad. The infrastructure will feature two distinct rail gauges: a 1435 mm international standard track between Torugart and Makmal, and a 1520 mm wide-gauge line from Makmal to Jalal-Abad.

Makmal is set to become a strategic interchange node, with plans to build a wheelset transfer station and a major logistics center to support freight movement along the corridor.

The total estimated cost of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway project is approximately $4.7 billion. The total length of the railway line, spanning through Kyrgyzstan, is about 305 kilometers.

The primary economic advantage of the CKU route is its potential to significantly cut travel time between China and Europe/Middle East. The railway is projected to reduce the distance from Eastern China to European markets by approximately 900 kilometers and cut transit time by 7 to 8 days compared to the existing Trans-Siberian route.

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