First tunnel on China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway's Kyrgyzstan section holed through

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 5, significant progress was made in the construction of the Kyrgyzstan section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, as the Koshtebe North No. 2 tunnel was successfully holed through, marking the first tunnel completed on the Kyrgyzstan section of the project.

The Koshtebe North No. 2 tunnel, holed through this time, has a total length of 209.6 meters. It is a single-track tunnel with a maximum burial depth of 41 meters. Construction of the tunnel began on May 10, 2026, and the construction team completed the breakthrough in just 87 days. Meanwhile, key control projects such as the Naryn No. 1 tunnel have also achieved phased results.

Since the start of all civil works on the Kyrgyzstan section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway in June 2025, 27 tunnels have commenced construction, with 1 holed through; 43 bridges and 88 subgrade sections have started construction; and foundation work for 20 stations is also fully underway. In addition, all large-scale temporary roads and temporary power supply projects along the entire line have been completed and put into operation.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is a landmark project of the Belt and Road Initiative jointly promoted by the heads of state of the three countries. The project starts from Kashgar in China's Xinjiang, enters Kyrgyzstan via the Torugart Pass, passes westward through the border city of Jalal-Abad, and ends at Andijan, a city in eastern Uzbekistan. The railway spans more than 500 kilometers in total, of which the Kyrgyzstan section is 304.84 kilometers long, accounting for nearly 60% of the total length.

The Kyrgyzstan section is the most challenging segment of the entire line in terms of construction difficulty, requiring the construction of 29 new tunnels and 50 bridges, with a combined bridge and tunnel length of approximately 120 kilometers, accounting for nearly 40% of the total line length.

Among them, the tallest bridge on the entire line — the Kechi-Alat River Grand Bridge — has a total length of 956.67 meters, with its highest point reaching 122 meters (equivalent to about 40 stories), and a maximum pier height of 96 meters. The bridge is located in a seismic zone of intensity VIII with highly undulating terrain. To ensure structural safety, high-grade seismic-resistant materials are used for both the steel reinforcement and concrete of the bridge; the main span is crossed using steel truss girders and constructed via the incremental launching method — the steel truss girders are assembled segment by segment on the shore, and then continuously launched using a walking-type incremental launching system to smoothly position the massive girder structure. Several construction techniques, including the incremental launching method, are being applied for the first time in Kyrgyzstan.

To date, the overall construction progress of the project stands at approximately 17%. Once completed, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway will become a vital transportation artery connecting Central Asia and radiating across the Eurasian continent.