South Korea to help Uzbekistan modernize airports and launch new trains

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Republic of Korea has strengthened its status as one of the key and most reliable strategic partners of Uzbekistan in the field of large-scale modernization of transport and logistics infrastructure. Speaking at the Korea-Uzbekistan Business Forum in Tashkent, the Deputy Minister of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ilkhomzhon Abdugafarov, emphasized that bilateral interaction covers key segments of civil aviation, rail communication, and the introduction of advanced digital technologies for passenger flow management.

According to The Investor, one of the flagship vectors of cooperation is the project for the comprehensive modernization of Urgench International Airport, implemented on the principles of public-private partnership (PPP) jointly with the South Korean corporation Incheon International Airport Corporation. The relevant ministry assesses this project as an exemplary precedent of transnational PPP interaction.

Concurrently, Tashkent invites leading Korean engineering companies possessing international experience in the digitalization of air harbors to take an active part in the design and construction of the new hub "New Tashkent," which is designed to become the main aviation node of the entire Central Asian region.

In the railway sector, the parties have moved to the practical phase of forming a high-speed corridor between Tashkent and Samarkand. To prepare a detailed feasibility study for the project, the Export-Import Bank of Korea has allocated a targeted grant amounting to US$3 million.

The new highway is designed to significantly reduce the operational load on active tracks and redistribute passenger flows. In addition, the Deputy Minister recalled that within the framework of a recent contract, the first two high-speed electric trains of Korean production are already successfully running on the Tashkent – Khiva route.

Currently, the government of Uzbekistan is working on the issue of concluding a new agreement with the engineering company Hyundai Rotem for the purchase of an additional batch of eight high-speed trainsets. These trains are planned to be distributed to prospective high-speed routes that will connect the capital with Andijan and Termez.

An important milestone for anchoring new investment agreements and deepening Uzbekistan's integration into global supply chains will be the upcoming "Central Asia – Republic of Korea" summit, the holding of which is scheduled in Seoul this year.