Uzbekistan Pushes For Unified SCO Railway Network Across Eurasia

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, September 1. Uzbekistan has proposed establishing a Council for the Integration of Railway Spaces of SCO Member States as part of efforts to strengthen international transport corridors and improve railway connectivity across the Eurasian region, Trend 's special correspondent reports.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made the proposal during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's 25th-anniversary summit in Bishkek, highlighting transport connectivity as a key condition for expanding trade and economic cooperation among SCO members.

The proposed council would provide a platform for coordinating railway development, improving connectivity between national networks and supporting the development of international transport corridors across the organization.

The initiative comes as Uzbekistan advances major railway projects designed to strengthen its position as a transit hub in Central Asia. Among them is the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which is being developed as a new route connecting China with Central Asia and potentially further toward markets in the Middle East and Europe.

The CKU railway has an estimated project cost of about $4.7 billion, with China providing approximately $2.3 billion through a 35-year loan to the joint project company.

The proposed SCO railway council could help coordinate such projects at a broader regional level, particularly as member states seek to expand trade routes and reduce transport bottlenecks.

For Uzbekistan, stronger railway integration would support its efforts to diversify trade routes, improve access to major markets and increase the role of Central Asia in Eurasian transit networks. The initiative also fits into Tashkent's broader push to turn SCO cooperation into practical projects in transportation, infrastructure and regional economic integration.

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