Key Findings
CPMM road and rail transport data for Uzbekistan in 2022 showed the following year-on-year changes from 2021:
- Road transport border-crossing time fell from 7.6 hours to 4.2 hours.
- Road border-crossing cost was down to $74 from $92.
- Total road transport cost increased from $674 to $687.
- Road SWOD dipped from 46.9 km/h to 45.6 km/h, and SWD increased from 27.9 km/h to 29.6 km/h.
- Rail inbound border-crossing time rose slightly to 6.8 hours from 6.2 hours.
- The cost of border-crossings by rail was unchanged at $133.
- Total rail transport cost dipped from $665 to $635.
- Rail SWOD dropped slightly from 13.3 km/h to 13.1 km/h. SWD was up from 11.2 km/h to 11.9 km/h.
Table 3.19: Trade Facilitation Indicators for Uzbekistan, 2020–2022
| Road Transport | Rail Transport | ||||||||
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||||
| TFI1 | Time taken to clear a border-crossing point (hour) | 10.1 | 7.6 | 4.2 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 6.8 | ||
| Outbound | 7.6 | 6.6 | 3.5 | 14.0 | 6.0 | – | |||
| Inbound | 14.0 | 9.1 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 6.8 | |||
| TFI2 | Cost incurred at border-crossing clearance ($) | 102 | 92 | 74 | 125 | 133 | 133 | ||
| Outbound | 124 | 114 | 87 | 100 | – | – | |||
| Inbound | 83 | 74 | 63 | 129 | 133 | 133 | |||
| TFI3 | Cost incurred to travel a corridor section ($, per 500km, per 20-ton cargo) | 648 | 674 | 687 | 671 | 665 | 635 | ||
| TFI4 | Speed to travel on CAREC Corridors (km/h) | 26.6 | 27.9 | 29.6 | 9.7 | 11.2 | 11.8 | ||
| SWOD | Speed without Delay (km/h) | 46.9 | 46.9 | 45.6 | 21.9 | 13.3 | 13.1 | ||
km = kilometer, km/h = kilometers per hour, SWOD = speed without delay, TFI = trade facilitation indicator.
Source: Asian Development Bank.
Table 3.20: Border-Crossing Performance in Uzbekistan¸ 2020–2022
| BCP, Corridor and Direction of Trade | Duration, hours | Cost, $ | ||||||||
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |||||
| Road Transport | ||||||||||
| Alat | (2, 3) | Outbound | 9.6 | 9.7 | 3.9 | – | – | – | ||
| Inbound | 6.8 | 3.5 | 1.7 | – | – | 18 | ||||
| Termez | (3, 6) | Outbound | – | – | 2.1 | – | – | 50 | ||
| Inbound | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
| Dustlik | (2) | Outbound | 2.1 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 25 | 15 | 11 | ||
| Inbound | 2.4 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 33 | 12 | 19 | ||||
| Dautota | (2, 6) | Outbound | 8.1 | 7.3 | 5.1 | 5 | – | 13 | ||
| Inbound | 14.3 | 9.3 | 4.6 | 73 | 86 | 79 | ||||
| Saryasia | (3) | Outbound | 5.3 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 127 | 131 | 122 | ||
| Inbound | 25.7 | 11.0 | 2.3 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||
| Yallama | (3, 6) | Outbound | 9.6 | 6.8 | 1.9 | – | 21 | 6 | ||
| Inbound | 30.0 | 3.4 | 0.9 | – | 15 | 18 | ||||
| Oibek | (2, 3, 6) | Outbound | 2.8 | 5.3 | – | – | – | – | ||
| Inbound | 1.4 | 3.0 | – | 50 | 15 | – | ||||
| Rail Transport | ||||||||||
| Termez | (3, 6) | Outbound | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Inbound | 9.1 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 120 | 117 | 116 | ||||
| Keles | (3, 6) | Outbound | 72.0 | 6.0 | – | – | – | – | ||
| Inbound | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5.9 | 139 | 155 | 154 | ||||
| Bekabad | (2) | Outbound | 3.5 | 6.0 | – | – | – | – | ||
| Inbound | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||
BCP = border-crossing point.
Source: Asian Development Bank.
Trends and Developments
Despite significant challenges, Uzbekistan has made use of CAREC corridors to transport its goods by road and rail through Turkmenistan’s ports on the Caspian Sea, and via Turkmenistan’s overland links with Iran’s maritime gateways on the Persian Gulf. Other CAREC corridors connect it with the PRC through Kazakhstan’s rail and road transit routes, and it aims to make more use of the Kyrgyz Republic’s road corridors to strengthen its transport connections with the southern parts of the PRC’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The government has taken significant steps to support export growth by strengthening the transport sector. It has lowered tariffs on imported used trucks and provided finance to help domestic carriers purchase them. The national road carrier association, namely AIRCUZ, charges the lowest TIR Carnet fee of any TIR member. The trucking industry has expanded rapidly as a result and is providing better services to producers aiming to export their goods, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables. Notable progress has also been made in rail connectivity. A multimodal truck and rail service links Tashkent with Lanzhou, a major China Railway hub in the PRC’s Gansu Province, via the Kyrgyz Republic. This has led to further cooperation between the two cities, including the creation of a multimodal e-commerce logistics center in each.
Recommendations
Install modern inspection equipment at BCPs to expedite cargo throughput. Many border delays are due to a shortage of inspection equipment. Automated weight machines, high-speed scanners, and video surveillance systems can speed up border inspections and reduce vehicle waiting time.
Build additional access roads at BCPs. BCPs lack enough access roads, and this slows the flow of vehicles both in and out. It also makes it difficult to speed up processing and throughput by separating car and truck traffic. The access road to the six inspection lanes at the Yallama BCP has only two lanes. At least three are needed in each direction to make full use of the BCP’s capacity and further reduce crossing time.
Apply lessons learned from the Yallama improvements to other BCPs. CPMM data show that infrastructure improvements and streamlined border management procedures have had a positive effect at Yallama. Lessons learned from this pilot endeavor should be applied at the country’s other BCPs.
Give freight and passenger rail traffic equal priority. Passenger traffic now has priority when train paths are assigned on Uzbekistan’s rail lines. This is meant to support tourism, but moving cargo is far more profitable for Uzbekistan Temir Yollari than transporting passengers. The government should gradually establish equal treatment in path assignments for freight and passenger traffic to provide the railway with the greater income it needs to expand its network.