Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan Sign Tripartite Railway Project

Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Tuesday signed a tripartite railway project connecting the three countries.

The Railway connection will pass through Mazar-i-Sharif city and Logar in Afghanistan and will end in Pakistan at the Kurram border crossing Kharlachi.

This route was decided upon during a trilateral working group meeting of the three countries on the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) railroads project on Monday in Islamabad. The working committee met for the second time since January of this year.

During the meeting, the parties also agreed upon a one-year project plan, based on which foreign consulting firms will produce material about the project to share with international financial institutions and countries to entice their investment.

They also emphasized the importance of conducting the project’s feasibility assessment as accurately, thoroughly, and quickly as possible so that actual work could begin immediately.

According to Uzbekistan, the 760-kilometre railway should shorten goods delivery times between Uzbekistan and Pakistan by around five days. At the same time, there would be a minimum 40% decrease in the price of transporting goods. The project is expected to be finished by the end of 2027, and by 2030 trains may be able to transport up to 15 million tons of cargo annually.

The three countries have already signed a roadmap and strategic plan for building a new 573-kilometre Trans-Afghan railway linking Central Asia with ports on the Arabian Sea. The agreement stipulates that a collaborative expedition will be organized to map the route’s topography and undertake a preliminary feasibility analysis.

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