The topic of the construction of the Balykchy – Kochkor – Kara-Keche railway was discussed at a meeting in the government of the Kyrgyz Republic chaired by Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Bakyt Torobaev.
- The project is strategic, – he reminded. – Its implementation is one of the priority tasks of the state and is under the special control of the President of the country.
The state enterprise “Kyrgyz Temir Zholu” (KTZ – “Kyrgyz Railways”) is engaged in the construction of a new branch. According to the general director of KTZ Azamat Sakiyev, this year it is planned to lay 15 kilometers of highway, which is three times more than in 2022. Relatively modest results are explained by the fact that the project is implemented by the company’s own resources and that the road itself is laid in a mountainous area with difficult terrain.
In general, it is planned to build 63 kilometers of road in the first stage. This section will connect the town of Balykchy on the northwest coast of Issyk-Kul with the administrative center of the Kochkor district of the Naryn region. The total length of the highway will be just under 190 kilometers. The branch will reach the great Kara-Keche coal mine.
- This strategic project will lay the foundation for a new railway junction and the development of the Issyk-Kul and Naryn regions, – underlined the KTZh. – In the future, this branch will create many opportunities for the socio-economic development of the entire Central Asian region.
According to KTZ, the railway construction project is being implemented as part of a comprehensive investment initiative. The latter includes the construction of a thermal power plant with a total capacity of 1.2 megawatts and the development of the Kara-Keche and Min-Kush lignite deposits (Ak-Ulak section).
The Balykchy-Kochkor-Kara-Keche route, as KTZh hopes, will be part of the inner belt, the idea of ​​which official Bishkek has been trying to interest Chinese partners for over a decade with varying success. With him, in particular, the authorities of the republic have associated the possibility of implementing a larger infrastructure project, which is supported by the PRC. We are talking about the China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan transit railway line project. With him, according to KTZh, the branch, which is removed from Balykchy, will be connected in the future.
Russia will support the construction of a strategically important railway line. Six months ago, on the sidelines of the Bishkek Investment Summit, KTZ concluded a corresponding memorandum with the Russian Export Center and RZD International. In mid-April this year, a delegation of the mentioned companies visited Kyrgyzstan. The parties discussed the issues of joint design of the highway, its equipment with related remote control systems, carrying out design work on the ground and surveying the route.
- A technical group comprising representatives of Kyrgyzstan Temir Zholu and RZD-International conducted an on-site inspection of the railway construction, KTZ reported.
Folder “RG”
The construction of the Balykchy – Kochkor – Kara-Keche railway has been discussed in Kyrgyzstan since the 1990s. However, the republic began the practical implementation of the project only last spring. The start of construction work was given by President Sadyr Japarov. The official ceremony to launch the laying of the new highway took place on March 31, 2022. With the onset of cold weather, the work was temporarily suspended. With the improvement of weather conditions – in the spring of this year – the laying of the road has resumed.
The project is divided into two phases. The second and most important will connect Balykchy, to which an operational railway line from Bishkek has been laid, with the Kara-Keche deposit. Most of the route goes through sections at considerable height.
Completion of the project is expected to have a multiplier effect on the Kyrgyz economy. After the commissioning of the highway, the cost of coal transportation will decrease, including for the largest energy facility in northern Kyrgyzstan – the Bishkek Thermal Power Plant. At the same time, the new railway will allow the Naryn region itself to develop more intensively. It is assumed that with the opening of the road in the mountainous region, new industrial enterprises and new tourist facilities will appear, jobs will be created.
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