Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, July 25
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The delegation of Turkmenistan went to Afghanistan on July 25 to participate in the ceremony of starting the construction of the railway between the Afghan towns of Aqina and Andkhoy, Trend reports referring to the local Altyn Asyr TV channel.
This route is part of the Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Turkmenistan (TAT) transport corridor, the trilateral memorandum on the construction of which was signed in March 2013.
In November 2016, a railway from the Turkmen city of Atamyrat (now known as Kerki) to the Afghan settlement of Aqina was launched in eastern Turkmenistan.
Turkmen workers completed the construction of the Atamyrat-Ymamnazar section, paved the road across the Turkmen-Afghan border, and also extended a branch from the Turkmen border village of Ymamnazar to the Afghan settlement of Aqina.
Moreover, 2 stations were set up as part of the project - Gulistan and Ymamnazar, as well as 2 large bridges across Turkmenistan’s Karakum River.
As such, the new road will connect the Afghan section of Aqina-Andkhoy with the Atamyrat-Ymamnazar section in Turkmenistan and Panj in Tajikistan, which will increase trade cooperation, experts say.
It is assumed that this large-scale project will become part of the Asian International Transport Corridor, which will be connected to the extensive railway network of China and, through it, to the markets of the Asia-Pacific region. The new highway should revive the economy of Afghanistan, open the way for the export of Afghan goods to international markets.
Using this route, Afghan producers can increase the supply of nuts and fruits, marble, lapis lazuli, other precious and semiprecious stones and other minerals that this country is rich in, Turkmenistan’s Orient News Agency writes. It is expected that the operation of this transport corridor will stimulate the development of many raw materials deposits.