Afghan, Turkmen presidents launch three new projects incl railway line

President Ashraf Ghani with his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Thursday inaugurated three projects including a railway line, a power line, and fiber-optic network in the north of the country.

One of the projects that were officially launched was the 30km Aqina-Andkhoi railway line that will connect Afghanistan to Turkmenistan.

“The inauguration of the Aqina-Andkhoy railway and other infrastructural projects between the two countries are significant steps towards further deepening these relations and translating an important part of our regional connectivity vision into reality,” the Presidential Palace (ARG) quoted Ghani as having said in a tweet.

According to ARG, regional connectivity clusters and large-scale projects such as railway lines, TAPI gas pipeline, TAP power transmission line, and fiber optics network will link South Asia to Europe by land and to the rest of the world.

ARG said the power line project is a 500kw electricity line running from Aqina to Sheberghan, capital of Jawzjan province, and a 220kw electricity line connecting Sheberghan to Mazar-e-Sharif, capital of Balkh province.

Besides this, a new fiber-optic network was also inaugurated on Thursday.

Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who addressed the event virtually praised both governments for the projects.

This latest development comes on the heels of the new Khaf-Herat railway link with neighboring Iran.

It is hoped that this new line will also significantly boost trade between the two nations and beyond.