Tashkent (AsiaNews) – Uzbekistan’s role in the Eurasian transport system is changing: whilst in the past its status as a landlocked country was considered its main limitation, Tashkent is now seeking to exploit its geographical position to its advantage, linking China, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Europe and South Asia via its territory.
In 2025, the volume of goods in transit through Uzbekistan reached 15.3 million tonnes, a 54 per cent increase compared with 2021. However, the country’s share of freight traffic in transit between China and Europe still does not exceed 1–2 per cent. According to calculations presented to the President of Uzbekistan in July 2026, attracting a further 15–20 million tonnes of international transit freight per year could generate additional tax revenue of US$400–600 million for the country. This could also attract around US$3 billion in investment in logistics centres and terminals. To this end, Uzbekistan is simultaneously developing several routes: a new railway line from China will pass through Kyrgyzstan.
The China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway is becoming one of the key projects. It has been under discussion for several decades, but construction only began in recent years; the official launch took place in December 2024, and large-scale work on the entire Kyrgyz section of the route began in the summer of 2025. By 2026, the project was already in the active construction phase: tunnels were being excavated, bridges erected, the track bed laid and supporting infrastructure put in place. According to the Kyrgyz side, work has begun on all 29 tunnels, and the Uzbek Ministry of Transport reported in July that construction is proceeding on schedule.
The railway is expected to link Kashgar to Andijan, passing through Kyrgyzstan. According to the latest official estimate provided by the Kyrgyz side, the cost of the project is approximately 4.7 billion dollars. For Uzbekistan, the significance of this line extends far beyond bilateral trade with China: once completed, the railway will provide the country with a shorter rail link to western China, without having to route some of its freight via the longer northern routes. The railway is expected to handle up to 15 million tonnes of freight per year and reduce delivery times between China and European markets by up to 10 days, but Uzbekistan does not intend for the line to end there.
Once it reaches Uzbekistan, freight can be distributed via various routes: to the west, Tashkent hopes to link the new railway with the Central Corridor via the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus, whilst a route through Turkmenistan, Iran and Turkey is being developed in parallel. In future, the connection of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan line to the Trans-Afghan Corridor is expected to open up access to Pakistan’s ports. The role of the Middle Corridor in transport between Uzbekistan and the European Union has changed even more significantly: its share of the total volume of goods handled rose from 12 per cent in 2021 to 28 per cent by 2025, and this growth continued into 2026, when, in the first half of the year alone, the transit of Uzbek goods through the port of Baku reached approximately 0.5 million tonnes, 2 per cent more than in the same period of 2025. Goods from Uzbekistan travel through Central Asia to the Caspian Sea, then via Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey.
At the same time, transit traffic with European countries is also on the rise: in 2025 it reached 1.5 million tonnes, a 29 per cent increase compared with 2024. For Uzbekistan, the development of this route is also important because it offers an alternative to traditional routes and allows freight flows to be distributed across different corridors. Efficiency does not depend solely on Uzbek infrastructure: the route involves railways in several countries, ports on the Caspian Sea, maritime transport and the subsequent transhipment of goods in the South Caucasus. The speed and cost of delivery are determined by the coordination of all participants in the supply chain.
