Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Tajikistan railway project may have new participants
By Aynur Jafarova
China, Iran and Kyrgyzstan may join the 400-kilometer long Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Tajikistan (TAT) railway project, the analytical report released by the Strategic Planning Institute under the Ministry of Economy of Turkmenistan said.
The TAT railway project which began to be implemented in early June is of great importance to the strategic, political and economic interests of all countries participating in the project.
The TAT railway is planned to be put into operation by 2015.
"The future rail network will not only connect the countries of the region, but also provide them with access to the markets of more distant countries. Such routes will allow the continental and closed Central Asian countries to fully realize their economic potential," the report said.
This route will open a new corridor between Central Asia and global markets through the ports on the Indian Ocean.
Cargo transit has become an important source of exports of services, foreign exchange revenues and creation of more work places. Future prospects are largely related to the proper adaptation of the railway network and its services to the capacities of new transit and export-import cargo. Thus, creation of transport corridors implementing intermodal transportations acquires particular importance.
The Atamyrat-Imamnazar route (the Turkmen section of the TAT project) will be the seventh rail link between Turkmenistan and neighboring countries. After the North-South line is constructed to the border with Iran, this will be the eighth crossing from Turkmenistan to neighboring countries.
These two rail lines will transport around 25 million tons of cargo per year through the Eurasian continent from China to the center of Europe, from Afghanistan to Russia and beyond.
The countries of South Asia would reduce the transportation period by 8 days and the cost of containers by $500, if Pakistan and India optimize their systems to benefit from the growing network of Central Asia's railways.
The project is being implemented within the tripartite memorandum of understanding signed in Ashgabat in March 2013.
The project complies with the intergovernmental framework agreement which was signed in May 2011 during the official visit of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to Turkmenistan.
Implementation of the joint infrastructure projects will be a powerful impetus to further development of the Afghan economy and 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.