Afghanistan offers Turkmenistan to build Imamnazar-Akina railway line
By Aynur Jafarova
Afghanistan has offered Turkmenistan to construct the Imamnazar-Akina railway line -- section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway line -- on the Afghan territory.
The proposal was voiced at a meeting of the special coordination intergovernmental group on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway project, which took place in Ashgabat, the Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary reported.
"Representatives of the Afghan delegation suggested participation of the Turkmen specialists in the development of a feasibility study and construction of the Imamnazar-Akina railway line section in Afghanistan," the report says.
The meeting was attended by senior representatives of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and held within a memorandum of understanding signed in Ashgabat on March 20 following a tripartite meeting of the presidents of three countries.
The sides signed an intergovernmental framework agreement on the construction of Atamyrat-Imamnazar-Akina-Andkhoi railway in May 2011.
Earlier, Deputy Minister of Public Works of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Wahid, said the main investors in the project for the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway will be Ashgabat and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Wahid said the railway section passing through Turkmenistan will be funded by the Turkmen government and the Afghan and Tajik sections are likely to be financed by the ADB.
The bank plans to allocate $350 million to Afghanistan, he said.
The feasibility study of the Afghan section is also completed, and after its approval by the government, the implementation of the project will start. Turkmenistan has already started construction of its section of the railway, Wahid said.
Tajikistan, in turn, has appealed to the ADB with a request for funding of the project, and is likely to receive funds due to the difficult economic situation in the country, he added.
Wahid said the exact cost of the project and the amount of the allocated funds will be determined after the completion of the feasibility study.
Wahid said merging the railroad to a larger regional rail system is planned in the future. This will not only allow linking of the region's countries, but will also provide access to more distant countries, such as China and Iran.
He did not exclude the possibility of accession of other countries to financing of this project, such as Iran.
Implementation of the joint infrastructure projects will be a powerful impetus to the further development of the Afghan economy, successful solution of important social issues, including those related to employment.
Moreover, the implementation of this project will contribute to the diversification of Turkmen and Tajik transport corridors, as well as usage of the transport and communication network of the Central Asian, Caspian and Black Sea regions.