World Bank prepared to loan Uzbekistan $200 mln for railway line
TASHKENT. March 31 (Interfax) - The World Bank (WB) is planning to issue Uzbek government-owned railway company Uzbekiston Temir Yullari a $200 million loan for the construction of Angren-Pap railway line through the Kamchik Pass, the bank said in a statement on its website.
The two parties have already started drafting documentation for the loan, and plan to finish the paperwork in August of this year. It is expected that the loan could be approved by the bank's board of directors in January of 2015.
Uzbekistan began building the 129-kilometer Angren-Pap railway line in June 2013. The railway line will run through the Kamchik Pass and connect three regions in the east of the country (Andizhan, Namangan and Ferghana) with the rest of Uzbekistan. The project is expected to cost $1.77 billion, and will be funded by the state budget, the Uzbek railway company and loans from international financial institutions.
Uzbekiston Temir Yullari and China Railway Tunnel Group signed a contract for construction of the $455 million tunnel in June 2013. Construction began in September. Export-Import Bank of China has allocated $350 million for the construction.
The new railroad should run along Uzbekistan's northern border with Tajikistan. It was reported earlier that Uzbekistan did not want to transport cargo to the Ferghana Valleny by rail via Tajikistan. Cargo has been transported via the A-373 highway, which is of strategic importance for the country, since January 2010.