- Accelerating the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railway Project
- Uzbek-Afghan officials meet in Kabul to enhance transit transportation through Afghanistan
- Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan are striving for establishing an economic corridor linking Central Asia to the Indian Ocean waters through ML1 railway
- By: Dr.Muhammad Arif, Editor, the Silk Road Times.
Islamabad: An engineering team has visited Kabul to enable the survey of the Afghan-Trans railway project, Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway project, an initiative likely to open connectivity of Afghanistan with Central Asia and South Asia.
Zia Ahmad Takel, the deputy spokesman of the Taliban Foreign Ministry said an engineering team has come to Kabul to enable the survey of the Afghan-Trans railway project, and in the next few weeks another technical team with technical equipment will come to Afghanistan.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s statement, the meeting discussed transit relationships, and Uzbek investments in Afghanistan.
The Uzbek delegation announced they also plan to send technical teams to initiate practical work and feasibility studies for the Trans-Afghan railway project, and purchase one million tons of coal from Afghanistan to Kabul.
Uzbekistan aims to open trade routes with South Asian countries through landlocked Afghanistan.
Some experts believe Afghanistan, with a good economy and lasting peace and stability, will be beneficial for the countries of the region, especially Central Asia, and that is why visits of Uzbek, Turkish and Chinese officials have increased in recent years under the Taliban regime, according to sources of Afghanistan Chamber of Industries and Mines.
Uzbekistan is also interested in connecting through Afghanistan to port city Karachi of Southern Pakistan through ML1 railway, according to officials of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment.
The Chamber of Commerce and Investment said that developing trade relations with Central Asian countries can play a significant role in increasing the exports and transit of Afghan goods through this route to European countries, China, and Russia.
For development on transit transportation through Afghanistan, Hamidullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s Minister of Transportation and Aviation and Uzbekistan’s Ministers of Transport met in Tashkent, last year, to discuss accelerating the construction of the Trans-Afghan Railway, and both the parties reached an agreement to enhance transit transportation through Afghanistan.
In 2018, Taliban, Uzbekistan and Pakistan signed an agreement on the railway route known as “Trans-Afghan” in Islamabad with the goal of establishing an economic corridor linking Central Asia to the Indian Ocean waters.
The construction cost of this railway is estimated to exceed USD 4.5 billion, spanning a length of 573 kilometres. Beginning from Termez, the railway traverses the cities of Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul in Afghanistan before reaching Peshawar in Pakistan.
However, no country has recognised the Taliban regime so far, and the implementation of the project remains unclear.
In May 2024, Pakistan and Uzbekistan reaffirmed their commitment for early implementation of Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railways project after a meeting, held between Uzbekistan Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov and Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, in Islamabad, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railways project is likely be completed by end of 2027 and trains could carry goods up to 15 million tons a year by 2030. The 760-kilometer (472-mile) railroad is expected to reduce delivery times of cargo between Uzbekistan and Pakistan by about five days, aside from reducing the cost of goods transport by at least 40%, according to estimates.
In 2023, Uzbekistan exported approximately 6,000 tons of commercial goods to Pakistan via Afghanistan, showing the achievement and potential of transit transportation through Afghanistan under the improved security environment since the establishment of the Islamic Emirate.
After completion of Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railways project, South Asia-Central Asia connectivity would foster regional economic cooperation, trade, and investment, and boost the cultural, civilizational and historical linkages between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
