Participant countries mull Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway project
Afghanistan and Tajikistan are engaged in selecting options for the route of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway's section between the two countries, Head of the Railway Department at the Tajik Transport Ministry Muzaffar Boboev told Trend.
Boboev said that a delegation from Afghanistan visited Dushanbe in late March. During the visit, the parties discussed the issue of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway construction.
According to him, the parties discussed four options for the route of the section connecting Tajikistan and Afghanistan, namely Kolkhozabad-Kunduz-Sherkhan-Bandar, Ayvadzh-Kaldar-Khayraton, Ayvadzh-Mazari-Sharif, Bishkent-Khayraton.
The priority option for Tajikistan, he said is the Ayvadzh-Kaldar-Khayraton route. Dushanbe is awaiting Afghanistan's response on its choice.
Boboev noted that the project's funding is under discussion, and the project is being evaluated.
He added that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide funds for construction of the road following the finalization of the project's cost.
Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan signed a memorandum on the construction of the railway on the results of talks between Presidents Hamid Karzai, Emomali Rahmon and Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov in Ashgabat in late March.