MoPW signs agreement with an Uzbek company for maintenance of Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railroad


March 18th, 2015

hairatan

MoPW signs agreement with an Uzbek company for maintenance of Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railroad

The Ministry of Public Works (MoPW) has entered into an agreement with Uzbekistan Railway Enterprises for maintenance of Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railroad for next three years. Besides the maintenance, the company will also train Afghan railroad engineers and receive 19 million USD from the Afghan government. Under the agreement, at least 150 railroad engineers would be trained and more than four millions tons of Afghan goods would be exported to Uzbekistan. The engineers who receive training will then extend the Hairatan-Mazar Sharif railroad to Sheberghan, the capital city of Jawzgan province. According to Noor Gul Mangal, the Minister of Public Works, the agreement is a win-win situation for the two neighboring countries. The engineers who receive training will then extend the Hairatan-Mazar Sharif railroad to Sheberghan, the capital city of Jawzgan province  “Under this agreement, out engineers would receive training, the export of goods will increase and other railway routes would be reviewed as well,” he said. The important clause in the agreement is about the increase in trade between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Uzbek traders are expected to bring their goods to Afghanistan and take back Afghan goods to Uzbekistan, which will enhance bilateral trade ties. As per the agreement, over the next three years, the Uzbek company is supposed to shell out 2 million USD in tax to the Afghan government. The 75-kilometer railway line from Hairatan on the Uzbekistan border to Mazar Sharif in Afghanistan was commissioned in January 2012, financed by Asian Development Bank (ADB). Afghanistan’s first rail network, construction of Hairatan-Mazar Sharif railroad was agreed by Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and ADB in 2008 as part of the ADB’s Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program. – See more at: http://afghanzariza.com .

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