Projects

“Not viable, economically or technically”

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

A somewhat pessimistic view…

Iran-Afghanistan railway ‘on agenda’

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tuesday that the construction of a railway between the Iranian city of Khaf and the Afghan city of Herat was being discussed, according to the Tehran-based Press TV.

….

Tehran faces many difficulties in extending this railway farther than Herat, said Zhou Rong, an Islamabad-based researcher on Central and South Asian issues.

“Afghanistan is still at war, and if this railway is extended to Tajikistan, it must run through the Pashtun areas controlled by the anti-Iran Taliban,” Zhou said. “The security costs would be very high.”

It’s no more than a “political will” to build a railway to link Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Zhou said, adding that the idea is “not viable, economically or technically.”

Source: Global Times, 2010-11-17

Technical assistance to the National Railway Authority

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

An OJEU notice.

09/11/2010 S217 External aid programmes – Service contract – Prior Information Notice – Prior information or periodic indicative notice 

AF-Kabul: DCI — technical assistance to the National Railway Authority in Afghanistan

2010/S 217-331687

Location: Asia — Afghanistan

Contract forecast notice

Services

Common procurement vocabulary (CPV):

Main object:

71356200 Technical assistance services

Additional object(s):

79314000 Feasibility study

 1.Publication reference:

EuropeAid/130690/C/SER/AF.
 2.Procedure:

Restricted.
 3.Programme:

DCI.
 4.Financing:

Financing agreement.
 5.Contracting authority:

European Union, represented by the European Commission, on behalf of and for the account of the beneficiary countries, Kabul, AFGHANISTAN.
 6.Nature of contract:

Fee-based.
 7.Contract description:

The forecast service contract aims to provide technical assistance to the Government of Afghanistan in order to:
1) help establish a National Railway Authority;
2) provide support to capacity building;
3) provide assessment of country-wide railway feasibility;
4) provide assessment of country-specific technical issues (e.g. gauge).
The most important criteria for contracting an expert team will be proven expertise in the areas of:
— institutional building,
— capacity building,
— transport economics, and
— railway engineering.
The indicative duration of the service contract will be 30 months and the team will be based in Kabul (Afghanistan), working closely with the involved ministries, governmental agencies and international donors. Coordination with the neighbour countries will be channelled via the Secretariat for Regional Cooperation.
 8.Numbers and titles of lots:

The contract is divided into lots:
No, 1 lot only.
 9.Budget:

Maximum budget: 1 550 000 EUR.
 10.Intended timing of publication of procurement notice:

December 2010.
 11.Additional information
 12.Legal basis:

DCI-ASIE.
 13.Date of dispatch of this notice:

27.10.2010.

Remarks:

There must be a minimum period of 30 calendar days between the publication of this contract forecast and the publication of the corresponding procurement notice.

No applications or requests for information should be sent at this stage.

Herat railway “will start operation soon”, says Iranian official

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

The Iranian-backed railway from Khaf in Iran to the Afghan city of Herat will open “in the near future”, reports Iranian news agency Fars. Unfortunately there is no definition of “near future”!

A previous report earlier this year suggested that a lot of work was still required within Afghan territory. Does anyone know the current situation?

Iran to Inaugurate Transit Railway with Afghanistan Soon

A senior Iranian legislator announced on Saturday [30 October 2010] that the country plans to inaugurate a transit railway line linking Iran’s eastern parts to the western regions in Afghanistan in the near future in a move to facilitate transfer of goods and cargos between the two neighboring countries.

“The transit line which will link Torbat Heidariyeh (in Northeastern Iran) to Herat (in Western Afghanistan) will start operation soon and it is due to be extended to Iran’s Southern-most port city of Chabahar (on the rims of the Persian Gulf),” member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Ali Rezaee told FNA.

[More…]

Source: Fars News Agency, 2010-10-30


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Minister says Turkmenistan link is next

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

Megha Bahree of Forbes interviews Afghanistan’s Minister of Mines, Wahidullah Shahrani, about mining projects. The article includes this about the next phase of the railway plans:

Shahrani: Right now we have up the railway line from Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sharif, which is a big commercial center. This 75 km long railway line cost $175 million and was funded by the ADB. Next phase will be from Afghanistan to the Turkmenistan border. This is 257kms and will take three years and we expect the tenders out by early next year. Apart from this, MCC is also constructing a 921km long railway line that will link Kabul with Turkmenistan, Pakistan, central highland to Mazar-i-sharif.

Source: In The Shadow Of The Taliban, Afghanistan’s Mining Sector Is Open For Business, Megha Bahree, Forbes, 2010-10-21

Turkmenistan to fund Andkhoy line

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

Turkmenistan is to fund, survey, design and construct a 126 km railway to northern Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Wahid, Financial & Administrative Deputy at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Works said in a 17 October 2010 interview with TOLOnews.1 This would be Turkmenistan’s second line to Afghanistan, after the Towraghondi line.

Starting from the existing 1520 mm Turkmen rail network at Atamurat (also written Atamyrat, previously known as Kerki) the proposed line will run to Aqina on the Afghan border, then run 36 km within Afghanistan to Andkhoy district in Faryab province. It is not clear whether 126 km is the total length, or the length of the section within Turkmenistan.


View Turkmenistan – Andkhoy railway plan in a larger map

Although the article refers to “Aqina harbor”, looking at Google Maps I suspect this is a mis-translation for a border crossing facility, which appears to be well away from any river – well away from anything, in fact.

The Turkmen frontier post is Kolodets Imam-Nazar (also Imamnazar etc), where new border facilities were formally opened on 13 August 2007 with assistance from the USA and United Nations.2

The railway project was discussed in July 2008 and again by various officials from the Afghan and Turkmen governments in August 2010, when ministers also talked about the railway which will connect the Afghanistan via Shabarghan, Aqina and Imamnazar to Turkmenistan.3 An extension from Andkhoy could connect with the planned Mazar-i-Sharif to Herat line at Shirbirghan (Shabarghan and variants).

According to the Ministry of Public Works the railway will boost trade, help to grow the Afghan economy and provide Afghanistan with access to the Caspian Sea and Europe.

However there are no timescales given for construction.

  1. Afghanistan to Build 36km Railway in the North, Tamim Shaheer, TOLOnews, 17 October 2010 ↩
  2. Imamnazar new post control was opened at the Turkmen-Afghan border, State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH) | 15 August 2007 ↩
  3. The Agreement of Support for Implementation of TAPI Project was Signed, Ministry of Mines, 30 August 2010 ↩

Video of Hayratan to Mazar-i-Sharif construction works

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

From the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif to the Uzbek border, the land runs flat with barely a hillock to block the way. It is perfect terrain for building a railway

says Afghanistan’s First New Railroad On Track, an 14 October 2010 by Charles Recknagel at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

There are details of construction and security on the new line from the Uzbek border to near Mazar-i-Sharif:

Currently, the railroad is guarded by a force of 500 police. The headquarters of the force is a small, windswept outpost halfway between Mazar-e Sharif and the Afghan border crossing of Hairaton, where the new rail line starts.

There is also a video showing construction work. This feature a twin-unit locomotive (a 2TE10?) in action at 55 sec, and then a smaller blue locomotive, both presumably belonging to Uzbek state railway UTY.

Revolution on the rails

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

Historically, Afghans have regarded railways with suspicion. But now the government is embracing a plan that could help the country tap into global markets, delivering prosperity and even peace, says Afghanistan’s revolution on the rails, an article by Jonathan Gornall at UAE newspaper The National.

It includes some interesting comments from railway consultant David Brice, who is working in Afghanistan:

And, [Brice] believes, the Afghans may finally have lost their once well justified distrust of foreigners bearing blueprints for railways. “The local people we talk to are thoroughly behind it all. They want to be able to move around much more easily, and in safety. “Afghanistan never has been a self-sufficient country, and any move towards making that happen is clearly highly desirable. The whole population sees this; they are living in terrible poverty and they need access between labour and jobs and medical services. Everything hangs on a decent transport network, and this is the way to provide it.”
Source: The National, 2010-10-09

ADB funding more studies

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

On 16 June 2010 Asian Development Bank approved a further USD700 000 from its Technical Assistance Special Fund for:

A study on railway development for Afghanistan completed for the following routes: (i) From Hairatan at the border with Uzbekistan to Heart [Herat] in the west, via Mazar-e-Sharif; (ii) from Shirkhan Bendar at the border with Tajikistan, via Kunduz to Naibabad [which is on the line under construction from Hayratan] joining Mazar-e-Sharif to Heart; (iii) from Torkham at the border with Pakistan to Jalalabad; and (iv) Spainboldak at the border with Pakistan to Kandahar.

Source: Railway Development Study (Supplementary) : Afghani., Is Rep. of, 2010-06-16

Taking it literally, this seems to miss out the link needed from Chaman in Pakistan over the border to Spin Boldak in Afghanistan.

CNN on Afghan railway projects

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

After nearly a century, a modern Afghan railroad is under construction, reports CNN. “This connects Afghanistan to the world,” says an 18-year-old high school student named Shakrullah. He says he hopes to one day get a job as an engineer for the railroad. “I want trains for all the provinces of Afghanistan, not just for Balkh province.”

Agreement signed for north-south corridor studies

Posted on by Andrew Grantham

This looks potentially significant, although the words if feasible are probably quite important. I will try to study the announcement in more detail later this week.

MINISTER SHAHRANI SIGNS HISTORIC RAILWAY AGREEMENT

Kabul: September 22, 2010

Mines Minister Wahidullah Shahrani today signed an historic agreement with the China Metallurgical Company (MCC) for a railway to connect Kabul to Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
This northern railway project is part of the Aynak Copper Mine Contract, signed between the Government and MCC. The contract specifies that MCC constructs a railway, if feasible, from northern Pakistan through Kabul to southern Uzbekistan. This rail link will connect Afghanistan to the railways of Pakistan, India, and South East Asia and to the extensive rail system of China, Europe and Central Asia.

Minister Shahrani said, ‘When complete, the railways will give substantial benefits for the Afghan economy in trade, employment and cheaper prices. This northern railway is part of a wider plan to extend the Afghan rail network to connect Afghanistan to ports in Iran and Pakistan.’

The next step is for MCC to commission and fund a competitive tender for a feasibility study to examine the preferred route proposed by the Government’s Inter-Ministerial Railway Committee. It will take up to two years for the detailed route study and another six months to complete the full feasibility study.

The feasibility of the second part of the railway, from Kabul through Bamyan, Doshe, Kunduse, Niadabob, Hairetan and on to Uzbekistan, will be studied for an additional 18 months with construction to follow.

MCC will build the railway according to the ‘BOOT’ principle – ‘Build, Own, Operate and Transfer’. MCC will own the railway until it has recovered its capital costs through collecting transport fees. The details of the BOOT Agreement will be negotiated once the Government have approved the feasibility study prepared by a independent contractor funded by MCC.

The railway will be designed to have the size and capacity to carry the heaviest of loads – copper cathodes, copper concentrates, and commercial goods for transit, agricultural products, passengers and normal freight.

MCC will employ Afghan labor as much as possible in the construction and operation of the railway. Prior to the transfer of ownership to the Government, MCC will complete a training program for Afghan workers to operate the railway. The training will range from

basic functions to high level executive management.
Estimated costs for the entire railway range from US $ 4 –5 billion. Completion of the entire route could be within five years from starting the detailed route survey.

Benefits
The opening the new railway will bring many benefits to Afghanistan. Costs of goods and services will fall due to lower transportation costs. Huge economic and social development opportunities will arise along the rail route as companies switch from road to rail transport. The mining and extractive industries will become more cost effective along the resource corridor developed with the railway.
Source: Ministry of Mines, 2010-09-22