According to the department, during a meeting between the chairman of the Afghan railway department and officials from Pakistan and Uzbekistan, it was decided to begin technical studies for the Trans-Afghan railway project, with finance coming from Tashkent and Islamabad.
Nearly 465,000 metric tonnes of commodities were imported and exported by train through the country’s land ports in the previous month, according to the government.
According to Abdul Sami Durani, spokesman for the railway department, “the railway department of Afghanistan is attempting to enhance meetings with neighboring nations to achieve perfect harmony so we can turn Afghanistan into the economic crossroads of Asia through the railway line.”
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry reported that at the moment, traders in Afghanistan export their products to nearby and European nations via the ports of Hairitan, Aqina, and Torghonde.
Akhonzada AbdulSalam Jawad, the spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, stated that “our traders may import and export their products in a short amount of time and at a low cost; we are connected to the regional countries by Hairatan, Aqina, and Torghonde ports.”
Some traders praised the availability of rail-based export and import capabilities and requested that the railroad agency expand these capabilities.
The Khawaf railway in Herat and the railroads running from Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif are both very helpful to traders. According to Ahmad Sayed Sediqqi, deputy of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment, “we requested the government to complete this project in order to generate chances for traders.
According to Abdul Mujeeb Niazi, head of the Faryab Chamber of Commerce and Investment, “We propose that the authorities of the Afghan railways examine the relevancy of their work procedure because their work bill dates from the previous government and is quite cumbersome.
On the fringes of an ECO summit, the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Uzbekistan recently stressed the need of utilising the already-existing Trans-Afghan railway cooperation capacities.
The Afghan train project from Mazar-e-Sharif to Pakistan will be 764 kilometers long, be finished in five years, cost $6 billion, and take five years to complete, according to the railway administration.