MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti) - China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) has signed a $50 million contract with Uzbekistan’s Temir Yollari (Uzbek Railways) for the supply of equipment for the electrification of the Karshi-Termez railway section in the country’s south, a source in the Uzbek company told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
Under the contract, signed following the tender launched in late 2013, CNTIC will supply ready-to-operate external power delivery equipment, contact system service vehicles and railroad switches.
Throughout 2014 CNTIC signed another two equipment supply contracts with Temir Yollari for the electrification of the Marakand-Karshi railroad section in the country’s south, worth a total of $45.6 million.
In 2012 Temir Yollari started the electrification of the two railroad sections in south Uzbekistan totaling 289.3 miles. The projects, which will last for six years, is worth a total of $716.4 million and will involve infrastructure and social facilities development. The projects are funded by a $220 million loan provided by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a $100 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and from Temir Yollari’s own funds.
Uzbekistan has 2,600 miles of railway, almost 621 miles of which are electrified, with 434.7 miles completed over the past seven years. The republic aims to electrify about 1,200 miles of railways. About 60 percent of Uzbekistan’s internal cargo traffic and about 80 percent of total freight traffic are transported by rail.
