Kyrgyzstan plans to establish a logistics centre near its border with China, although few details remain available about the USD 100 million project. The country’s National Investment Agency and local company Textile Trans signed a memorandum on establishing the Sary-Tash international transport and logistics centre last week.
Sary-Tash is located in the Alay Valley in southern Osh Region, around 70 kilometres from the Irkeshtam border crossing with China. It sits on the Osh-Sary-Tash-Irkeshtam road and at a junction with routes toward Tajikistan. The project also includes plans for a textile manufacturing cluster.
Adding to the importance of CKU
Initially, the proposed routes look set to support the future China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan (CKU) route, hoping to turn the Middle Corridor into the backbone of a regional intermodal network. The site is intended to handle cargo moving along the route to Afghanistan, with possible onward access to Pakistan.
Moreover, the planned logistics centre would allow goods to be stored and transferred there before continuing along regional transport routes. It would also include warehouse and transshipment facilities, along with customs services and a digital system for monitoring cargo.
Few details known
Ambitious though the plan is (some already see a way to link the Central Asia countries to Pakistan’s under-utilised ports), there are likely to be problems with funding and organisation. The announced $100 million is not secured financing, as The Times of Central Asia reported. The memorandum says the project aims to attract investment of up to that amount. On top of that no construction timetable or opening date has reportedly been announced.