The price tag for the planned Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway, also known as the Trans-Afghan Railway, will be towards $7bn according to estimates made by the three countries.
Officials at Uzbekistan’s transport ministry referred to the figure after November 15 talks between Uzbek transport minister Ilkhom Makhkamov, Pakistani industry development officials and two large transport and logistics companies, NLC-Logistics and TCS.
However, as always where infrastructure projects in Afghanistan are concerned, the neighbouring countries will seek security guarantees from the war-torn nation’s Taliban administration ahead of expediting the construction phase on Afghan territory.
The railway construction project could be implemented with a public-private-partnership (PPP) model in the construction-operation-transfer format, Uzbek officials also said.
The parties to the talks also agreed that multimodal transportation should be developed along the Trans-Afghan Corridor, while transportation fees should be reduced, cargo transportation simplified and the railway construction accelerated.
The Trans-Afghan Railway project was launched in 2018. At that time, an annual cargo transportation potential of 20mn tonnes worth $5bn was estimated.
Related Articles
US Congress move casts doubt on Kenya’s Major non-NATO Ally status
Kenya’s newly acquired designation as a Major non-NATO Ally (MNNA) is potentially under threat after a US Senate proposal called for its review ... more
Construction work on $4.6bn Trans-Afghan Railway could reportedly be under way within six months
Construction work on the proposed Trans-Afghan Railway could be under way within six months, while the project could cost around $4.6bn to deliver and cut shipping transit times from Uzbekistan to ... more
Kenya Railways accused of incurring $263.32mn in avoidable loan charges tied to Chinese SGR debt
Kenya Railways Corporation has come under scrutiny for accumulating KES 34.1bn ($263.32mn) in avoidable interest and penalties on a loan from China’s Exim Bank that financed the Standard Gauge ... more