Financing of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway: model

Financing of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway was set out in a loan agreement signed on 16 December 2025, as reported on the Kyrgyzstan Cabinet of Ministers website.

The document was signed by the joint venture “Железнодорожная компания «Китай — Кыргызстан — Узбекистан»” and a consortium of Chinese banks that includes the China Development Bank and Eximbank.

Loan agreement for the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan project

The project cost is set at US$4.7bn. Under the agreed terms, the consortium is providing the joint venture with a loan of about US$2.3bn for 35 years, while the remaining funding will be contributed as equity to the joint venture. The shares are split as follows: China — 51%, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan — 24.5% each; the same figures were cited by Gazeta.uz.

Construction cost and technical parameters

The project is technically challenging: the route length is 486 km, and around 40% of the alignment will consist of tunnels and bridge structures.

Participants and start of works

The joint venture was established in September 2024. The official start of construction of the single-track line was given in January 2025 — as previously reported by Railway Supply.

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