Speaking at the opening ceremony of the railway line, he said the 63-kilometer route has been fully completed. During construction, around 1 million cubic meters of blasting work were carried out and 8 kilometers of mountainous terrain were cleared.

The construction cost amounted to $955,000 per kilometer.

«When we started this project, we held a competition among near and distant neighbors. They offered to build one kilometer of railway for between $4.8 million and $6.8 million. We realized that this was too expensive, took the risk, and began construction using our own forces. As a result, we completed one kilometer for only $955,000,» Japarov said.

The president also compared the railway’s cost with the alternative North—South road project. According to him, the construction of one kilometer of the Balykchy—Jalal-Abad road, which is 433 kilometers long, was estimated at $2.5 million per kilometer. At the same time, the road has still not been fully commissioned.

«Why was the cost so high? Of course, half of that amount was taken away. A railway and a highway cannot be compared: a railway is more expensive and more difficult to build. But even so, we built one kilometer of railway for just $955,000,» the president said.