Uzbekistan’s 145km railway between Pap, Namangan, and Andijan will be electrified after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $80 million loan.
The project will help improve connectivity for freight and passenger services – including to Tashkent, the capital city – and encourage growth and job creation in the Fergana Valley, an area of the country in which a third of the country’s population lives in.
In total the project will cost $177.45 million with the public railway company O’zbekiston Temir Yo’llari (UTY) and the government contributing the remaining $97.45 million.
ADB’s investment is expected to go towards supervision consultants and the procurement of plant, maintenance equipment, machinery and materials for external power supply.
Takeo Konishi, ADB’s country director for Uzbekistan, said: “Ensuring the safety, reliability, and sustainability of railway networks is an important component of growth and development for a landlocked country like Uzbekistan.
“Improving transport in Uzbekistan will strengthen the country’s strategic location as a trade and transport hub in Central Asia.”
The project supports UTY and the government’s ongoing efforts in upgrading Uzbekistan’s Soviet-era railway network.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
