TASHKENT (TCA) — The route Tashkent-Andijan-Osh-Irkeshtam-Kashgar is the shortest motor transport corridor from Uzbekistan via Kyrgyzstan to China. The road runs through Sary-Tash and Irkeshtam pass in Kyrgyzstan at an altitude of more than 3,500 meters above sea level, the Jahon information agency reports.
For the organization of transportation of export-import cargoes along this new motor corridor, the joint enterprise Silk Road International was created. At the first stage it will operate about 80 trucks. In the future, based on the volume of transportation, the fleet will increase.
Great interest in the new route is primarily due to the minimum delivery time. According to the earlier acting corridor, the cargo from Uzbekistan to China went 8-10 days, but now it will take two days.
An important factor is the cost of transportation. Transparent and flexible system of tariffs for transportation of containers and modular cargoes allows saving from $300 to $500 for delivery of each lot. In general, expenses in this direction will decrease by about $2.5 million per year.
A multimodal transport and logistics center has been created in the Andijan region of Uzbekistan, allowing cargo to be transported from all corners of Uzbekistan to Andijan by rail and then by motor road to China.
The new automobile corridor was initiated by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his state visit to China last May, when the two sides signed an intergovernmental agreement on the international automobile communication.
Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Trade said that the implementation of this project will have a positive effect on the volumes of mutual trade turnover and allow the countries to fully cash in the existing transit potential of Uzbekistan, China and Kyrgyzstan. The Afghan partners are also showing interest in the route for cargo transportation by rail from Mazar-i-Sharif to Andijan and further to China.
The pilot truck rally on the route Tashkent-Andijan-Osh-Irkeshtam-Kashgar with the participation of lorries from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China took place from October 30 to November 3 last year. The 920 km long route was overcome in 31 hours, of which the automobiles were in motion for 16 hours, while the average speed of the convoy was about 50-60 km per hour.
