CC BY
14
UDC 911.3:33
Isayev A.A., candidate of geographical sciences
docent
Andijan State University Uzbekistan, Andijan
THE IMPACT OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN ON THE FORMATION OF TRANSPORT
CORRIDORS
Annotation. The article reveals the geographical position of transport in Uzbekistan, the emergence, formation and some aspects of the directions of development of transport corridors of the republic.
Keywords: Geographical location, Central Asia, transit, corridor, export, import.
Land transport is well developed in accordance with the geographical location of Uzbekistan. The development of transport is primarily based on its geographical location, relief and location of productive forces. In particular, the crossing of the ancient trade route was an important factor in the formation of the transport network of the republic. It should be noted that the location and development of the Republic's transport is greatly influenced by its unique geographical location in the center of Central Asia. It is surrounded by Kazakhstan to the north and west, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Turkmenistan to the south. There is no access to direct waterways.
It is known that the geographical location, topography and geological structure of the region play an important role in the formation of the transport network. From this point of view, the transport network and types of Uzbekistan are very different from neighboring republics.
The surface structure of Uzbekistan stretches from west to east, from west to east to 1430 km, and from north to south to 925 km. Samarkand, Navoi and the Republic of Karakalpakstan are bordered on South Kazakhstan, Kyzyl-Orda and Mangistau regions of Kazakhstan, and in the south Bukhara, Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya, Khorezm regions are bordered on Dashovuz and Lebab regions of Turkmenistan. To the east, it is bordered on Osh, Jalal-Abad and Batken regions of Kyrgyzstan. The regoins of the Fergana Valley are bordered Jalal-Abad region of the Kyrgyz Republic to the north and northeast, to the northwest Sughd region of the Republic of Tajikistan, and to the southeast Batken region of Kyrgyzstan.
One of the important features of the borders of the regions is that the borders between the neighboring republics pass through the plains. The roads that connect them therefore intersect through economically well-developed areas from ancient times. In general, the economic-geographical and geopolitical position of the republic has an impact on the formation and appearance of its transport system.
Currently, the foreign trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan is carried out through the following main transport corridors:
Corridor 1 - in the direction of the ports of the Baltic States (transit through Kazakhstan and Russia) - Klaipeda (Lithuania), Riga, Liepaja, Ventspils (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia);
Corridor 2 - in the direction of the European Union (EU), via Belarus and Ukraine (transit through Kazakhstan and Russia) - Chop (Ukraine) and Brest (Belarus) border;
Corridor 3 - to the port of Ilichevsk in the Ukraine (via transit from Kazakhstan and Russia), with access to the Black Sea;
Corridor 4 - in the direction of the Transcaucasian corridor, known as the TRACECA corridor (via transit from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan), with access to the Black Sea;
Corridor 5 - to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas (via transit from Turkmenistan), with access to the Persian Gulf;
Corridor 6 - in an eastern direction through the Kazakhstan-China border (Dostiq / Alalshankou) till the eastern ports of China, as well as till the ports of Nakhodka, Vladivostok and others in the Far East;
Corridor 7 - to Chinese ports (via transit from Kyrgyzstan) with access to the Yellow, East China and South China Seas;
Corridor 8 - due to the settlement of order to the Afghan problem a transit from Afghanistan opens up new prospects for the development of alternative southern transport corridors to the Iranian and Pakistani ports of Bandar Abbas, Chahbahar (Islamic Republic of Iran, IRI), Gwadar and Karachi (Islamic Republic of Pakistan, IRP).
The revival of the Great Silk Road was in 1995-2000, and a new route was added to it. In particular, on December 13, 1991 in Ashgabat, the leaders of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan agreed to jointly build the Tajan-Serakhs railway. The construction began in 1992 and in 1997 the construction of the 295 km long Tajan-Serakhs-Mashhad road was completed. The 130 km section of the railway is in the territory of Turkmenistan and 165 km in the territory of Iran.
Through these railways, Central Asian countries can access the ports of China on the Pacific coast and the Persian Gulf countries, and Europe through the Mediterranean.
The Tashkent-Farob-Tajan-Serakhs-Mashhad-Bandar Abbas (4122 km long) corridor is especially important for Uzbekistan. It is estimated that 5.3 million tons of cargo will be transported annually in this direction. The construction of this road from the Chinese ports on the Yellow Sea to Istanbul will significantly reduce the distance. If the Trans-Siberian Railway was 14,000 km at this distance, it is now 9,500 km in the Central Asian region. This road not only reduces the cost of transported goods, but also ensures its timely delivery.
Construction of the Tajan-Serakhs-Mashhad railway began in 1992 and was completed in 1996.
As the Trans-Asian Highway connects East Asia with Europe via the Central Asian transport system, European countries are also taking a keen interest in this direction. One of the alternative routes is the Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China route and it runs from Tashkent - Almaty - Taldykorgan - Druzhba - Alashankou - Urumqi to the Chinese ports of Lianyungang, Qingdao and Shanghai.
According to available data, freight traffic using new alternative corridors has been reduced from 5,700 km to 3,700 km from nearby ports in Uzbekistan, and 50% of exported cargo is transported through these roads (Kamolov S. T., 2001, p. 65-68). In addition, the climate of the region allows it to be used year-round. We spend more than $100 per ton to transport Uzbek cotton to Ukrainian ports via Kazakhstan and Russia, while the cost is $55 when transported via TRACECA (Arziev F., 1998).
The launch of new routes also means that the great legacy of Uzbekistan to world culture - the Great Silk Road - is being rapidly restored. One of them is the TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe Caucasus Asia) project, which is part of the TACIS (Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States) program, that is the Europe-Caucasus-Asia transport corridor. The implementation of this project directly applies to Uzbekistan.
Transport corridors should be economically safe in the first place. To this end, the countries concerned are interested in the directions that do not pose a threat to security.
In short, we can point to the following routes that allow Uzbekistan to access the sea:
• to the port of Karachi (Indian Ocean) through Afghanistan and Pakistan;
• Turkmenistan and Iran to the Mediterranean Sea through Turkey;
• to the ports in the Far East through the territory of Kazakhstan and China12;
• the Transcaucasian corridor, which leads to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea via Turkmenistan-Caucasus. This corridor also allows access to European countries using the Danube River;
• to Pacific ports through Kazakhstan-Russia;
• to the seas of the Arctic Ocean, Europe through Kazakhstan-Russia; to the Baltic countries using Latvian ports;
• to China and its seaports through Kyrgyzstan.
The revival of the Great Silk Road has been dubbed the "transport artery" of the new Europe-Caucasus-Asia. The above highways and railways further
12 Under the third option, experts recommend the following route: Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan-China is a railway in the southeast direction, Yangiabad-Ergashtom-Kashgar-Urumqi route is the closest distance connecting Central Asian countries to China.
enhance the global importance of highways of international importance. As part of them, roads in our country are developing in a unique way.
References:
1. Arziev F. The Great Silk Road Development Path // "Vatanparvar" newspaper, September 12, 1998, num. 109 (1061).
2. Kamolov S. Development of transport systems of Uzbekistan and the birth of the great rural route // Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Information bulletin by num.1. -T., 2001. p. 65-68.
3. Schlichter. S. B. Transport factor of regional integration // New factors of regional development. -M., 1999. p. 56-63.
