Officials from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are planning to open the 'Jibek Joli' border checkpoint (known in Uzbekistan as 'G‘ishtko‘prik') in September 2026. This was announced by Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin in an interview with the 'Uzbekistan 24' TV channel. According to him, current efforts are focused on developing automobile and railway crossing points between the two countries.
Zhumangarin emphasized that the 'Jibek Joli' checkpoint will be launched in September of this year, with a capacity of up to 70,000 people per day (previously 30,000) and over 2,000 passenger cars. This checkpoint was closed on February 5, 2025, for four months for capital construction and reconstruction, but the deadline has been extended several times; overall, reconstruction work has been ongoing since 2022. During the repairs, alternative routes have been established for pedestrians, freight transport, and railway traffic.
Additionally, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan plan to complete the construction of the new 'Darbaza — Maqtaaral' railway line. Zhumangarin noted that this year will see the completion of this line, which will add 20 million tons of cargo to the trade turnover, enabling the 'Maqtaaral — Sirdaryo' station to operate at full capacity. Construction began in late November 2023, with the line spanning 152 km.
According to the Kazakh side, the $545 million project will allow for the redirection of cargo from the existing 'Sariag‘ash — Tashkent' section to another route, reduce the load on the 'Sariag‘ash' station, and increase export shipments towards Uzbekistan. Furthermore, based on this infrastructure, construction of the International Industrial Cooperation Center (IICC) is also continuing, which will serve as a hub for joint production projects.
It is worth recalling that on April 11, Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Bukhara. The parties agreed to jointly advance the 'Clean Air' project in border areas, work on the rational use of water resources, and intend to jointly modernize border infrastructure for effective access to external markets.
Source: www.gazeta.uz