Uzbekistan will continue to manage the railway from Hayraton to Mazar-i-Sharif, as reported by the Ministry of Transport.
The head of the department, Ilkhom Makhkamov, earlier this week met with a delegation from Afghanistan led by Deputy Minister of Public Works for Railways M.I. Sahibzoda. During the negotiations, the acceleration of work on the construction of the Trans-Afghan highway was discussed.
The parties also agreed to extend the contract for the operation and maintenance of the Hayraton – Mazar-i-Sharif line. The operator will remain Sogdiana Trans, a subsidiary of Uzbekistan Railways.
The line was constructed in 2010 and has been under the management of Sogdiana Trans since it began operations. From February to August 2024, the 75 km line and the Naibabad station will undergo reconstruction.
It was previously reported that the Afghan Railway Administration extended the contract with Uzbekistan Railways for six months to complete the remaining work, which is expected to take 6 months according to Afghan sources.
Additionally, in recent years, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, along with Pakistan, have been collaborating on the Trans-Afghan Railway project. The idea of constructing a highway connecting the three countries was proposed back in 2018.
According to the latest estimates as of November 2023, the project's cost will be around $7 billion. In May, it was reported that equipment for the start of construction of the line was soon to arrive in Afghanistan.
Earlier, Spot reported that exports to Afghanistan through the Termez trade center exceeded $15 million.