China sends turbines for a future wind farm to Zarafshan

A freight train with wind power equipment left China’s Lanzhou for Uzbekistan, Spot reported citing the China Daily. 

The cargo weighing 260 tons is estimated at more than 3.5 million Chinese yuan, or $515,000 at the current exchange rate. The final destination is Zarafshan, where a 500 MW wind farm is currently being built with the participation of Masdar.

The train proceeded by rail to Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. There, the containers were reloaded onto trailers, which crossed the border with Kyrgyzstan through Irkeshtam in order to get to Uzbekistan in transit from there.

Usually, goods from China to Uzbekistan are transported through a logistics center in Khorgos, Kazakhstan. The new route will shorten the route by 500 km and speed up delivery by 3-5 days, the newspaper notes.

It is expected that, along with saving time, deliveries through Kyrgyzstan will expand the participation of the northwestern regions of the PRC in foreign trade. Lanzhou and Gansu will also have access to the new logistics channel.

In October, Masdar and China’s Goldwind signed a contract to supply 111 turbines for a future wind farm in Zarafshan. The Korea Herald and other media described the order as the largest of its kind in Central Asia.

Meanwhile, preparations for the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway continue. The parties signed an initial agreement on the project in September 2022, at the SCO summit in Samarkand. Its implementation is estimated at $3-5 billion.