The ceremony marking the start of the reconstruction and repair of the "Hairaton - Mazar-i-Sharif" railway line connecting Uzbekistan and Afghanistan took place on February 21 at the "Hairaton" station. This was reported by the press service of "O'zbekiston temir yo'llari" ("Uzbekistan Railways").
The company "O'zbekiston temir yo'llari" has dispatched 120 workers to Afghanistan to begin the first phase of the project.
During this stage, the plan is to deliver freight cars to the "Naibabad" station. Comprehensive restoration work will be carried out in the "B" yard of the "Hairaton" station and at the 57th kilometer of the railway.
The leaders of the railway companies of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan reached an agreement on the repair of the "Hairaton - Naibabad - Mazar-i-Sharif" railway section in November 2023.
According to the Afghan side, the head of "O'zbekiston temir yo'llari," Zufar Narzullaev, promised to carry out the repair "with quality and at a reasonable cost, offering a 50% discount."
In November 2010, "O'zbekiston temir yo'llari" announced the completion of the construction of this 75-kilometer line, with a project cost of $129 million.
The total length of the "Hairaton - Mazar-i-Sharif" railway is 75 km. It was constructed in 2010 by Uzbek specialists, with funding from the Asian Development Bank. The line is equipped with signaling, telecommunications, and power supply devices in accordance with technical standards and requirements applied in Uzbekistan.
The significance of this railway lies in its ability to facilitate rail transport in the most developed and densely populated areas of the northern provinces of Afghanistan, as well as to reduce transportation costs between Afghanistan and other countries in the region.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
February 22, 2024