Construction of Trans-Afghan Railroad estimated at $4.6 bln

On July 17, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed an agreement in Kabul on development of a feasibility study for construction of the Trans-Afghan Railroad

The Trans-Afghan Railroad will have the length of 647 km and the project is estimated at $4.6 bln, the Gazeta.uz news outlet reports.

On July 17, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed an agreement in Kabul on development of a feasibility study for construction of the Trans-Afghan Railroad.

The railroad route will be from Termez in Uzbekistan via Naibabad, Maidan Shar and Logar in Afghanistan to Kharlachi on the border with Pakistan, the news outlet said, citing Deputy Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan Jasurbek Choriyev. Its length will be 647 km.

Up to 3 mln metric tons of freight per year may be carried along the new route at the first phase, and the figure may reach 15 – 20 mln metric tons by 2035·2040. The construction cost is estimated at $4.6 bln. The interest is observed not merely to the project proper but also to its joint development, the official said.

“Signing of the framework agreement will make it possible for all the parties to proceed to practical steps. This is the detailed development of the feasibility study, land and geological studies, siting, economic and financial analysis,” the official said, cited by the news outlet.

The time of goods delivery from Pakistan to Uzbekistan will be reduced from 35 to 3-5 days owing to the railroad. The track gage will be 1520 mm – the standard adopted in Russia and former Soviet Union republics.