President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed the report on major transport infrastructure projects, including the Trans-Afghan Railway project Monday.
Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov told Uzbekistan 24 TV that the project implied extending the 80-kilometer section through Afghanistan to reach the ports of Pakistan and Iran.
"If at the end of last year, construction work was launched on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, then this year the Trans-Afghan Railway project is also scheduled to commence," he said.
About the project
In February 2021, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed a 3-party roadmap in Tashkent for the Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway project. The project was planned to be prepared in May and the construction works were scheduled to commence in September 2021. But the change of power in Afghanistan slowed it down. Nevertheless, in December, the caretaker government of Afghanistan joined it. On July 18, 2022, expeditionary work began oin Afghanistan to determine the route of the Trans-Afghan Railway and the feasibility study of the project.
The Uzbek Institute "Boshtransloyiha" estimated the project at $ 4.6 billion, while Pakistan valued it at $ 8.2 billion. According to media reports, the project is estimated at between $ 4.8 billion and $ 6 billion. It involves the construction of a 573 km highway with a transit potential of up to 20 million tons of cargo per year. The new transport corridor will connect the European Union, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and further the Southeast Asia.
The construction of the railway is expected to take at least 5 years.
In May last year, a project office for coordinating the railway was opened in Tashkent, and a feasibility study for the project was due to be readied in 2023.
In August 2023, the president underscored that the railway passing through Afghanistan would become “the best, cheapest and safest route” to South Asia.
“Imagine if these two railways are built, how sustainable our economy will be. We will not depend on anyone. Once these two large railway projects are completed, we will also become a country that will benefit through the [transit] tariff,” said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
In July last year, an official of the Ministry of Transport said that the parties to the project were working on inviting partners for the technical part and financing.
“The pool of partners has not yet been fully formed. The main parties are Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Here, as in the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, a consortium will be created, and this consortium will then collaborate with potential investors and partners. Of course, this is a more complex project. The key point is the issue of security and access. In principle, we have approved the route along the Afghan part, but additional survey needs to be done. There may be some deviations and adjustments. In addition, the issue of financing and participation of international financial institutions remains open. They seem to be ready to participate, but on the other hand, the Afghan government has not yet been recognized. This is the most key point,” the Ministry of Transport said earlier.
