Afghanistan, Kabul, 19 October / Trend corr. A.Hakimi/ A NEW railway linking Iran with the western Afghan city of Herat is 60% complete, the Ministry of Public Affairs said.
The Khawaf-Herat railway, built by the government of Iran, is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The ministry said it planned to build more railway lines to meet the demand for transportation links between Afghanistan and its neighbours, who use Afghanistan as a transit route for goods travelling to other parts of the region.
The ministry says rail transport is five times cheaper than transporting goods by road.
But one kilometre of railway built in Afghanistan costs about $2 million, the ministry said, and a planned railway between Herat and Tajikistan will cost about $4 billion.
Deputy minister for public affairs, Ahmad Wali Rasooli, said: "After the completion of road constructions throughout the country, and with the increase of transported goods, we are now turning our attention to railroads.
"Now there is a real need for the construction of rail-roads in the country. We plan to connect our borders with our neighbouring countries via rail."
The ministry said the construction of railways between Afghanistan and its neighbours would speed up the flow of goods across the country's borders.