Rahimov, Mirzohid. "The Pap-Angren Railway and Its Geoeconomic Implications for Central Asia". The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst, 19 April 2016.

Rahimov, Mirzohid. "The Pap-Angren Railway and Its Geoeconomic Implications for Central Asia". The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst, 19 April 2016.

• The construction of internal transportation networks and infrastructure in Central Asia has been not only a project in economic development, but also a political project aimed at increasing the physical evidence of sovereignty within the republics.
• Whereas the Soviet-era infrastructure is both illogical in the face of modern borders and difficult customs procedures, the new infrastructure projects connect the areas within one country. The older infrastructure is a physical reminder that the country used to be a single whole, meaning that the new transportation pathways are a physical representation of the political will of independence and separation from Soviet interconnectedness.
• In the independence period, Uzbekistan has constructed new highway and railroad systems in economically important areas. Two main projects were the Navoiy-Uchkuduk-Sultanuvaystag railway and the Tashguzar-Boysun-Kumkurgan, both of which made internal commerce possible without needing to cross Turkmen territory.
• Prior to the Tajik Civil War, crossing the territory of Xujand in Tajikistan was really the only way to access the Farg'ona Valley from the rest of Uzbekistan. But since the civil war transit in and out of the Farg'ona Valley has been difficult, and passenger trains have all but stopped across the territory.
• The present seclusion of the Farg'ona Valley from the rest of Uzbekistan is what makes the Pap-Angren railroad such an important infrastructural investment. Now there should be a direct link between the Farg'ona Valley and the rest of the country. Its importance in demonstrated by the prediction that it should see 600,000 passengers and 4-6 millions tons of cargo within its first year.
• The project also has important implications for another transit plans elsewhere in the country. The development of this rail system should increase the traffic along the newly constructed Kashgar-Osh-Andijon highway. Although talks have stalled, there is also hope that a railway along the same route could connect with the new line laid down between Pap and Angren.
• Although the Pap-Angren line is only 123 miles long, it is through exceedingly difficult terrain, including high and mountainous areas. Its construction has required 10 new bridges as well as a 19.1 kilometer long tunnel through the mountains constructed by a Chinese firm, currently estimated to be one of the most difficult engineering feats in the world.
• The Pap-Angren railway and associated infrastructure has so far cost $1.6 billion, with one billion of that funding coming from the Uzbekistani government through the state railway company, O'zbekiston Temir Yo'llari, and the National Reconstruction and Development Fund. An additional $350 million has loaned from China's ExIm Bank, with another $195 million being provided by the World Bank.
• The development of stronger and more rational internal infrastructure systems within the Central Asian republics is an important, but overlooked, step in implementing the numerous 'Silk Road' initiatives and similar plans to connect Central Asia with other important areas. Infrastructure such the Pap-Angren railway is necessary for the proper implementation of other transport corridors between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, Qatar, and others.