Dr. Obid Khakimov, Director of the Center for Economic Research and Reforms and Deputy Advisor on Economic Investment to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, presented the economic benefits for Central Asia of constructing the Mazar-i-Sharif–Kabul–Peshawar railway, in a seminar on the last day of this year’s annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), held in Tashkent on Sept. 3-4, Kun.uz reported.
That Trans-Afghan rail line “will provide the Central Asian countries with access to the Pakistani seaports of Karachi, Qasem and Gwadar. The implementation of this project will significantly reduce the delivery time of goods to Central Asia, the CIS and Europe,” Dr. Khakimov reported. When fully completed, the transportation of goods from Pakistan to Uzbekistan will take not 35, but 3 to 5 days, and the cost of transporting one 20-foot container can be reduced almost by three times, he said. According to forecasts, he added, the volume of cargo transportation along this route may reach 10 million tons.
The Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar railway was agreed on in principle in the “roadmap” signed between the three nations directly involved (Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) last February. Estimated construction time given for the 600-km, 1,520-cm track-gauge railway: up to 5 years. Estimated cost: $5 billion, quite feasible for some of the wealthy Gulf countries which participate in the IsDB.
