Uzbekistan's SCO freight traffic jumps 40% to 33.5m tonnes

The Express Tribune reported that freight movement between Uzbekistan and member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation rose to 33.5 million tonnes in 2025, citing the country's Ministry of Transport. Those figures show a rise of roughly 40 per cent over five years, with SCO partners now handling about 80 per cent of Uzbekistan's international freight.

For the bloc, linking transport networks and logistics now sits near the top of its regional priorities, as geopolitical strains alter how goods move across continents. For Uzbekistan, an engaged member, closer transport cooperation has become a strategic goal, with potential to tie Central Asia more firmly to China, South Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Missing rail links, differing track gauges and technical standards, and complicated border procedures still hold back a unified Eurasian rail network. Construction on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan line formally started in December 2024, and the 532.5-kilometre route is expected to handle 8 million tonnes a year by 2030. A planned Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway would offer a quicker land route between Central and South Asia, reaching Pakistan's seaports, and the three countries signed a framework deal for a feasibility study in July 2025. Preliminary estimates put the corridor's possible capacity at 22 million tonnes a year by 2030 and 34 million by 2040.