Russian Railways is ready to cooperate with Uzbekistan Railways to prepare the feasibility study for the Trans-Afghan railway project, the Russian Railways press service told TASS.
"Russian Railways Holding company is ready to cooperate with Uzbekistan to prepare the feasibility study for the Trans-Afghan railway project," the company said.
In early February 2021, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed in Tashkent a road map for the construction of the railroad "Mazar-e-Sharif - Kabul - Peshawar". The project was planned to be ready in May, and the construction of the road was to start in September this year. The railroad project is estimated at $5 billion. It envisages the construction of a 573-km-long railway with a transit potential of up to 20 million tons of cargo per year.
The new transport corridor must link the EU, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and further states of Southeast Asia. Tashkent calls these plans the "project of the century" and expects that the construction of the Trans-Afghan railway will allow Uzbekistan to diversify its export markets, reduce tariffs for the transit of Uzbek goods, providing short and cheap access to South Asia and to seaports.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS