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Cost of Trans-Afghan railway project estimated at $7 billion

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(Last Updated On: November 17, 2023)

Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan estimate the cost of construction of the Trans-Afghan railway at almost $7 billion, Kun.uz News Agency reported on Thursday.

Recently, the head of the Ministry of Transport, Ilkhom Mahkamov, held negotiations in Pakistan with local industry departments and large transport and logistics companies NLC-Logistics and TCS, the agency added.

The Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway construction project can be implemented through a PPP in the Build-Operate-Transfer format.

The parties also agreed to develop multimodal transportation along the Trans-Afghan corridor, reduce transportation fees, simplify cargo transportation and speed up the construction of a railway through Afghanistan.

The Trans-Afghan Highway initiative was launched in 2018. At that time, the project with an annual transportation potential of 20 million tons of cargo was estimated at $5 billion.

Based on Kun.uz news agency report in July 2022, Uzbekistan Railways shared “Boshtransloyikha” calculations. The institute put the estimated cost of building the railway at $4.6 billion, and the project will take 5 years to complete.

Last December, Pakistan estimated the construction of the railway between Pakistan and Uzbekistan at $8.2 billion.

This comes after a trilateral trade meeting between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan was held in Islamabad on Tuesday and the participants emphasized the need to strengthen economic relations between the three countries.

The meeting was attended by Nuruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan, Gohar Ejaz, Minister of Commerce of Pakistan, and Jamshid Khodjaev Abdukhakomovich, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan.

The Afghan Embassy in Islamabad said that discussions centered around advancing the trans-Afghan railway project, trilateral transit and trade, challenges to regional connectivity and other matters.

The minutes of the meeting, which was signed between these countries, focused on strengthening trilateral economic relations and regional connectivity through trade development, more transit facilities, increasing joint investments, reducing costs, transportation facilities, digitalization of customs systems, strengthening and expanding the banking system, food security, issuing visas, and also solving transit problems and strengthening trilateral transit.

“This is a significant step towards strengthening of economic ties and regional connectivity. Bright prospects for trade, investment, and connectivity lie ahead for mutual benefit of three countries,” Gohar Ejaz, the Minister of Commerce of Pakistan, said on X.

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Azizi calls on Malaysian investors to invest in Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: April 24, 2024)

Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, met with representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior of Malaysia, along with other senior officials, on Wednesday and called on Malaysians to invest in Afghanistan.

The visiting delegation is being led by senior diplomat Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin.

According to the IEA’s foreign ministry, the two sides discussed bilateral trade, holding a business communication conference to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, the trade balance between Afghanistan and Malaysia, and creating a market for Afghan products, including carpets, cotton, and minerals.

According to the ministry, at the end of the meeting, the Acting Minister emphasized the increase of investment from regional countries in Afghanistan and called on Malaysian investors to also invest in Afghanistan.

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Afghanistan starts exporting via railway to Turkey

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(Last Updated On: April 22, 2024)

The Ministry of Interior says that Afghanistan has started exporting goods to Turkey via the Herat-Khaf railway line.

In a post on X, the ministry said: “Afghanistan’s exports to Turkey started in a calm atmosphere through the Herat-Khaf railway line.”

The ministry added that one train will run daily for a month and then two trains will run daily.

According to the ministry, the security of Khaf-Herat railway line is provided by the guards of the National Public Protection Agency.

Khaf-Herat railway project not only connects Iran and Afghanistan by rail, but also completes a 2,000-kilometer route along the east-west rail corridor from China, through Uzbekistan, to Afghanistan, to Iran, and on to Turkey and Europe.

As a landlocked country, this railway network will provide a safe route to connect with Europe via Iran’s railway network and Iran’s southern ports.

This railway line is strategic for trade between Iran and Afghanistan and will allow six million tons of goods to be sent between the two countries.

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Afghanistan, Kazakhstan to hold joint expo in Kabul

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(Last Updated On: April 21, 2024)

A joint expo between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan will be held in Kabul in the next four days, officials said on Sunday.

Officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that the two-day expo will be held for the purpose of expanding and strengthening trade relations between the two countries.

“This expo will be held as a follow-up of the Kazakh-Afghan international expo, which was held in the city of Astana, Kazakhstan, with the participation of a large delegation of the government and the private sector of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Abdulsalam Javad Akhundzadeh, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said.
“At this expo, domestic products from different sectors of Afghanistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan will be put on display for two days.”

According to officials, 40 large Kazakh companies, and 40 large Afghan companies will exhibit their products.

Mohammad Saber Latifi, head of the Afghanistan International Expo Center, said that fruits, minerals and commercial services will be displayed at the expo.

During the expo, various memorandums of understanding for the trade of goods are also expected to be signed by companies.

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