TEHRAN, Iran, Nov. 23
Trend:
By the opening of the Khaf-Herat Railway by the mid-December, Iran will connect Afghanistan to the CIS countries, Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Abbas Khatibi announced.
“The Khaf-Herat railway was built in the form of three sections of 140 km with Iran`s investment. Two sections of which in Iran with a length of 78 km and the third section in Afghanistan with a length of 62 km were constructed by Iran,” Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Abbas Khatibi said, Trend reports citing ILNA.
“The fourth section with a length of 82 km continues to Herat,” he said adding that “The construction of this section has to be done by Afghanistan.”
“According to reports, Afghanistan provided the necessary resources for construction through Italy and a Kazakh company,” he said.
Referring Chabahar-Zahedan railway, Khatibi says that the railway is under construction.
Khatibi went on to say that through the Bafgh-Mashhad railway, we can practically connect to the Khaf city and from there to Herat. He said that through the Khaf-Herat railway, we can connect Afghanistan to the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
Referring to the cost of construction of the Khaf-Herat railway, the Khatibi says that “From the beginning, about $95 million have been spent, which will be increased by more than $595 million.”
“Studies show that about one million passengers and 6 million tons of cargo are transited annually through Iran rail network,” he noted.
"Afghanistan plans to connect the Herat railway to Mazar Sharif, which will be connected to Uzbekistan via the route,” pointed out Khatibi. “In this case, practically all countries such as Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, as well as China are connected to Iran and Afghanistan.
“Therefore, Khaf-Herat, in addition to connecting Iran and Afghanistan, is part of an important East-West corridor,” he added.