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Kazakhstan is launching a new international train tour called “Silk Road,” connecting the cities of Almaty, Turkestan, and Tashkent. The first train on this route will depart on November 16. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan, the four-day tour will allow travelers to plunge into the atmosphere of ancient cities along the historic Silk Road. The itinerary covers the most important sights of Turkestan and Tashkent and includes guide services, meals, transfers, and entrance fees. Vice-Minister of Tourism and Sports Yerzhan Erkinbayev mentioned that the route will strengthen cultural ties between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and make travel more comfortable and affordable. The tour program includes visits to historical places such as the ancient city of Otyrar, the mausoleum of Arystan Baba, the historical and cultural complex Azret Sultan, and the most significant tourist complex in Central Asia, Caravan-Saray. In Tashkent, tourists can familiarize themselves with historical sights and modern architecture. Earlier, the media reported on the launch of a tourist route between China and Kazakhstan. The train from China, which began running in July 2024, passes through the Khorgos-Altynkol border crossing, adding a new opportunity for travel in Central Asia.
On September 12, a new tunnel was opened at the Shakpak Baba pass in Kazakhstan’s southern Turkestan region. As the Kazakh Ministry of Transport reported, it is the longest automobile tunnel in Kazakhstan. The two-lane tunnel is 840 meters long, 11 meters wide, and 8 meters high. Control centers on both sides of the tunnel monitor lighting, ventilation, and traffic lights. The tunnel's opening will facilitate traveling and cargo transportation during winter. At the tunnel's opening ceremony, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Transport Satzhan Ablaliyev stated: "The opening of this tunnel is an important event for Kazakhstan's transport infrastructure. It will not only improve the region's year-round transport accessibility but will also significantly increase traffic safety in this difficult section. The tunnel will prevent drivers from being trapped in the snow on the Shakpak Baba pass in winter. In addition, the main traffic flow will now be redirected to bypass the village of Shakpak Baba, increasing safety in the village." The tunnel is part of the Kazakh section of the international road transport corridor Western Europe-Western China. With a total length of 8,445 km, the corridor runs 2,233 km through Russia, 2,787 km through Kazakhstan, and 3,425 km through China. In July, Kazakh Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev announced that in 2024, Kazakhstan planned to repair and construct 12,000 kilometers of road.
DUSHANBE (TCA) — Two projects that aim to address fragility risks and increase social resilience in Tajikistan’s vulnerable regions were approved on June 20 by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. The grant financing of $30 million for the Rural Economy Development Project and $37 million for the Socio-Economic Resilience Strengthening Project were allocated from the International Development Association’s (IDA) Risk Mitigation Regime. The projects will be implemented in Tajikistan’s southern Khatlon region and eastern Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), which both border Afghanistan. Continue reading
KABUL (TCA) — Focusing on infrastructure development will help bring about long-term growth in Afghanistan and address persistent issues affecting the country’s economic prospects, apart from security, including poor connectivity, poor access to limited energy supply, and low agriculture productivity, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report, released on April 3. Continue reading
ASHGABAT (TCA) — The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Turkmenistan, supported by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, on March 6 hosted in Ashgabat a meeting of the technical working groups on the Regional infrastructures Confidence Building Measures (RI-CBM) within the framework of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan. During the meeting, representatives of the participating countries of the Istanbul Process and international stakeholders presented reports on the implementation of the Regional infrastructures CBM plan. Continue reading
TASHKENT (TCA) — Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry says the head of the Taliban's political office in Qatar has expressed interest in cooperating with Tashkent in order to push Afghanistan's peace process forward, RFE/RL reported. A ministry statement issued from Tashkent on March 5 says Afghan Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar also welcomed Uzbekistan's efforts to help build infrastructure in Afghanistan's energy, transportation, and education sectors. The statement followed a meeting between Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov and Baradar in the Qatari capital, Doha, where Taliban representatives have been meeting with U.S. envoys as part of the Afghan peace process. The Uzbek Foreign Ministry said Baradar "noted that large infrastructural projects carried out by Uzbekistan will not only promote Afghanistan's economic development but will also create necessary conditions for starting a full-scale political process in this country." The ministry also expressed hope that Afghanistan might eventually become "a bridge of confidence and cooperation" between Central Asia and South Asia. The talks between Kamilov and Baradar were the highest-level official contacts between Uzbekistan and Taliban representatives. They follow a visit to Uzbekistan in August 2018 by Taliban negotiator Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai. Afghanistan's government signed an agreement with Uzbekistan in 2018 to cooperate on building a 75-kilometer railway link from Uzbekistan's Hairatan border terminal to the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif. That project is expected to have significant economic impact on trade between the two countries because about half of Afghanistan's imports from Uzbekistan pass through Hairatan. The Asian Development Bank has estimated that the project will quadruple capacity at the border. Uzbekistan is also contributing $32 million to help Afghanistan build a 500-kilowatt power-transmission line between the village of Surkhan in southern Uzbekistan and Pul-e Khumri in the northern Afghan province of Baghlan. Uzbekenergo chief executive Ulgubek Mustafaev has said that the 260-kilometer stretch of transmission line will enable Uzbekistan to increase exports of electricity to Afghanistan by 70 percent. The Asian Development Bank has pledged $70 million toward the project, which is expected to cost about $150 million to complete.
