Uzbekistan Approves Trans-Afghan Railway Feasibility Study Agreement

Uzbek President Shukrat Mirziyoyev signed the international agreement for the feasibility study of the Trans-Afghan railway project. The agreement establishes the framework for a regional transport corridor connecting Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Uzbek state media reported that Mirziyoyev approved the agreement on Wednesday, 22 Dalu. Uzbekistan's Ministry of Transport has been designated as the responsible authority for its implementation.

The agreement provides the framework for a joint technical and economic feasibility study of a railway expected to link Niyababad in Uzbekistan through Afghanistan to the Kharlachi pass in Pakistan. The Trans-Afghan railway project aims to connect Central Asia and South Asia as a regional transport corridor.

Mirziyoyev instructed Uzbekistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to notify Pakistan and Afghanistan that Tashkent has completed its internal procedures for the project.

The framework agreement was initially signed by representatives of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in January last year. The planned route is expected to pass through Termez, Niyababad, Maimana, Logar, and Kharlachi.

A joint office for the transport corridor was established in mid-2023 and operates under the Uzbekistan Railways Administration in Tashkent.

The project was first proposed in 2018 and is projected to transport around 20 million tons of goods annually. Initial cost estimates in the first year stood at $5 billion, but representatives from the three countries revised the final estimated cost to $7 billion in 2023.