Foreign investors show interest in Kyzyl-Kuragino rail project
Companies from Mongolia and China are considering joining the project to build the Kuragino-Kyzyl railway line with an extension to the border with Mongolia. This was reported by RBC, citing Vladimir Donskikh, special representative of the head of Russia's Tuva Republic. Speaking during Transport Week, he described the negotiations and terms of cooperation with potential foreign investors.
The Kyzyl-Kuragino railway is a long-delayed project. The agreement to build it was first signed back in 2008. The railway line is to become part of the Central Eurasian Transport Corridor (CETC), which connects Russia and the western province of Mongolia with the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.
According to Donskikh, the first Forum of Mongolian and Russian Regions will be held in Irkutsk in early December, where the Tuva government plans to conclude a framework agreement with the Mongolian Genghis Khan Group (a partner of China Railways) on infrastructure development cooperation in Tuva. In August, Kommersant reported on the renewed search for an investor for the project. It said an option was being considered whereby businessmen would be able to at least prepare a project feasibility study.
Russian Railways reported that a preliminary feasibility study is currently being prepared under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to assess the feasibility of creating the Central Eurasian Transport Corridor through Mongolia and Western China, which would involve building a railway line from Kuragino to Kyzyl to Tsagan Tolgoi and continuing through Mongolia to the border with China. A year ago, the Ministry of Transport estimated the project would require investment of RUB 1 trillion, with a completion date of 2035.
Donskikh said that the Chinese partners' proposal involves building the railway and, if necessary, energy infrastructure on Russian territory in exchange for the Russian side granting mineral development rights in Tuva. Such deals — infrastructure in exchange for resources — are already being used to build infrastructure facilities in Mongolia. Other terms include the creation of a joint venture with a Russian partner as the mining company, and the provision of technologies for the enrichment of complex polymetallic ores by the Chinese side if Russia lacks the relevant technology.
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05.12.25