Work on trans-Afghan railway project to be expedited

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Pakistan and Uzbekistan have agreed to speed up work on the 573-kilometre trans-Afghan railway project.

The railroad links Central Asian states to Pakistan’s seaports of Karachi, Gwadar and Bin Qasim through Afghanistan.

The agreement to expedite the project came at a meeting between a high-level delegation from Uzbekistan and senior Pakistani officials in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov led the visiting team at the meeting.

Pakistan was represented by Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati and Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razzaq Dawood.

The two sides reviewed progress on the railroad and agreed on the formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for further expediting the project.

The project, which is expected to boost Afghanistan’s reconstruction, will also help resolve the looming humanitarian disaster in that country.

In late December 2020, the heads of state of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed a joint appeal letter to the World Bank for funding the project.

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