Uzbekistan begins construction of a $5 billion trans-Afghan railway

Uzbekistan, a landlocked country, has begun construction of a $5 billion (approximately) trans-Afghan railway for using Pakistan’s major seaports. The local press “The News International” of Pakistan reported this.

It was noted that the map of the Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway project had been agreed by Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. It will be 600 km long and worth about $5 billion.

« On 2 February, 2022 in Tashkent, the representatives of Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan approved a roadmap for the construction of a 600-kilometer railway project (Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway) connecting the three countries. The project of the Trans-Afghan railway is the shortest way to connect Central Asia with the Pakistani ports of Karachi, Gwadar and Qasim», – said the head of the Investment Commission of Pakistan, Muhammad Azfar Ahsan.

According to Ahsan, Afghanistan is called «the heart of Asia». It connects various regions, mainly Central Asia through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan; South Asia through Pakistan and Iran via the Middle East.

The railway will open access to Pakistani ports for the Central Asian countries. In return, goods from the region will go to the world’s oceans more quickly and cheaply.
In early 2021, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan signed the «road map» of the new transport corridor: Termez - Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar.

It should link the European Union and Russia to Central Asia, as well as to India and Southeast Asia.