Construction of Khawaf-Herat railway to be completed in 2 weeks: ARA | So Good News

Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA) said that the construction of Khawaf-Herat Railway will be completed within two weeks.

ARA said its delegation will visit Iran in an attempt to discuss the start of the shipment of goods to Iran.

“A delegation is expected to travel to Iran in the coming days and will discuss certain issues there, which include cooperation on the railway, the start of transport and products,” said Abdul Sami Durani, a spokesman for the ARA.

The Afghanistan Chamber of Industry and Mines called the inauguration of the Khawaf-Herat Railway important for the Afghan trade, saying that transportation via this railway will help the prices of raw materials to drop.

It will help “transportation of goods and reduction of prices, especially Afghanistan’s mineral exports to Iran,” said Sakhi Ahmad Paiman, deputy chairman of ACIM.

The economists believe that the railway will benefit Afghanistan’s economy.

“This will lead to a reduction in the expenses of exports and imports and will also avoid the destruction of Afghan highways,” said Darya Khan, an economist.

Afghanistan currently has three active railways for the transfer of material. The railways are Hairatan, Aqina and Torghondi.

Meanwhile, the operation of the Hairatan-Mazar railway will gradually be handed over to the Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), officials said.

With the handling of the technical affairs of the railways and transportation of goods, the ARA said, the revenue of the government will increase. The transition of technical activities will shift from the Uzbekistan company to the Afghan government.

“We have sent them a statement that after May 10, the Afghan government will take responsibility for the collection of revenue from the railway,” said Bakht Rahman Sharafat, head of the ARA.

The technical operation of the Hairatan-Mazar railway is currently managed by an Uzbek company. Afghanistan pays 18 million dollars per year to the company in Uzbekistan.

The Hairatan-Mazar railway is one of the most important transit routes for Afghan goods. Based on available figures, the government receives $2.5 million to $4 million per month in revenue from the railroad.

The Afghanistan Chamber of Trade and Investment said the railway is effective in reducing the cost of transporting goods.

“It cost us less. The money will circulate inside Afghanistan. At the moment, Uzbekistan is taking most of the advantage. We pay them in dollars, said Khan Jan Alokozai, a member of ACTI.

The traders said that a large amount of gas, food material and construction materials are imported from China, Russia and Central Asia via this railway.

“We use this railway in a big way, which runs between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan,

“The people of Afghanistan are involved in the management of the railway. This is a good step to take because Afghanistan needs a railway which will be 800,000 meters long as part of the long-term (strategy),” said Azeraksh Hafizi, an economist.

The recent statistics show that the import rate has fallen in Afghanistan.