Kyrgyzstan decided to build a railway from the city of Balykchy to the Kara-Keche coal deposit on its own. An attempt to attract Chinese investors to the project was unsuccessful. This was stated to journalists by the Deputy General Director of the state enterprise "Kyrgyz Temir Zholu" (KTZ - Kyrgyz Railways) Dastan Usubakunov.
The Kyrgyz railway workers decided to refuse cooperation with foreign investors in connection with the desire to reduce the cost of the project.
A delegation of specialists from China visited Kyrgyzstan a few weeks earlier to assess on the possible participation of Chinese companies in the construction of a promising branch. In their opinion, laying the highway will require investments in the amount of about two hundred million dollars. The Kyrgyz side considered this proposal unprofitable. According to the deputy head of KTZ, the state-owned enterprise is able to implement the project, keeping within the amount two times less than announced by the Chinese colleagues.
According to the management of Kyrgyz Temir Zholu, it is possible to build a railway to Kara-Keche for $100 million. To lay a branch that will connect the coal deposit with the already operating Balykchy-Bishkek railway, the state enterprise is capable of doing it on its own.
The length of the projected road from Balykchy to Kara-Keche will be just over sixty kilometers. The branch will pass through the village of Kochkor, the administrative center of one of the districts of the Naryn region. The project is planned to be completed by 2026.
The government of Kyrgyzstan considers the said railway as part of a larger project. In the future, it is planned to connect it with another projected highway - the China-Uzbekistan transit line, which is supposed to be laid through the Tien Shan. As a result, a railway network may appear in the mountainous republic, which will connect the northern regions with the southern ones.
KTZ adds that the Balykchy-Kochkor-Kara-Keche railway is also considered part of a comprehensive investment project, which includes the construction of a thermal power plant with a total capacity of 1.2 MW and an increase in coal production at the deposit for the needs of other energy facilities. Among them is the largest power plant in the north of the republic - the Bishkek thermal power plant. At the same time, it is planned to stimulate the development and use of the rich natural resources of the territories located along the branch line, and to reduce transportation costs for domestic producers operating in the regions.
bbabo.Net