Railways are the country's backbone.
Internally, some 5.5 million people from the four affected provinces will have better access to economic opportunities. Better transport will also expand tourism to historic cities such as Bukhara and Samarkand on the famed Silk Route. The project will provide equipment for track laying and maintenance, install fiber-optic telecommunication systems, develop human resources, strengthen institutions, and establish a revolving fund for former railway employees to start up small businesses. Together with another ongoing ADB-assisted rail project, this project will complete improvement of 800km of the main railway route from Keles bordering Kazakhstan to Khodjadavlet, near the border with Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan's strategic location makes it ideal for transporting goods by land from East Asia to Europe.