Construction of Trans-Afghan railway to be accelerated

Issues related to the acceleration of the implementation of the construction project of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway were discussed at the meeting.

The parties also agreed to ensure the parity of tolls and fees for road transport, development of transit and two-way traffic through the territory of Afghanistan, and concessions on rail fares.

In February 2021, a roadmap for the construction of the “Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar” railway between Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan was signed in Tashkent. It was planned to prepare the project in May, and the construction of the road will start in September 2021. But the transition of power in Afghanistan has slowed down the project. However, in December, the Afghan interim government joined the project. On July 18, 2022, the expedition to determine the route of the Trans-Afghan railway and the technical and economic basis of the project began in this country.

In May 2023, the coordination office of the Trans-Afghan railway project was opened in Tashkent. In July, it was reported that the final stage of negotiations on the Trans-Afghan railway had begun.

Uzbekistan’s “Boshtransloyiha” institute estimated the cost of road construction at $4.6 billion, Pakistan – at $8.2 billion. According to media reports, the project is estimated at $4.8 billion to $6 billion. It envisages the construction of a highway with a length of 573 km and a capacity of up to 20 million tons of cargo per year. The new transport corridor should connect the European Union, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and further Southeast Asian countries.

In August, Shavkat Mirziyoyev talked about the importance of the railway passing through Afghanistan in a conversation with businessmen. “If we have these two big railways, we will become a country that will benefit from tariffs, and we will not be dependent on anyone else,” the President said.