MAZAR-I-SHARIF: Work on railway line to begin soon: Officials from Uzbekistan and Afghanistan have agreed to launch construction work on a 75-kilometre railway line, linking Mazar-i-Sharif with the Hairatan dry port.
An agreement to the effect was reached at talks between the two sides on January 16.
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The construction of another railway line — linking the airport in Mazar-i-Sharif to Dara-i-Sauf district of neighbouring Samangan province — would be launched in the second phase, he revealed.[more]
Source: South Asian Outlook quoting Pajhwok Afghan News, 2010-02-??
Mazar-i-Sharif
Mazar-i-Sharif line construction work
Uzbekistan to build railway line in Afghanistan
Uznews.net – A wage of $500 per month, poor living and working conditions and the lack of security – this is what Uzbek railway builders are offered to build the Hairaton-Mazar-e Sharif railway line in northern Afghanistan.
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The salary of $500 per month is very good in Uzbekistan but many specialists will think twice before putting their lives at risk.
Railway builders told Uznews.net on condition of anonymity that the construction of the Termez-Hairaton line started last autumn and 20 Uzbek builders had been involved in it. “Builders were sent at the beginning of last autumn to lay rails and ballasts. They returned a month ago,” a railway builder said.
A brigade of 30 militarised guards was sent to Afghanistan on 24 January but they could not get there immediately because of military operations in the country’s north.
[more]
Source: Uznews 2010-02-07
Tajik rail link offered
Islamabad-Dushanbe flights will start by March: Tajik envoy
[…]
The ambassador [of Tajikistan to Pakistan, Zubaydullo N Zubaydov] said that he would like to acknowledge that at the London Conference held on January 28, 2010 on providing stability and security in Afghanistan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan announced that Tajik side has offered construction of railway and gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, as well as building of power transmission lines from Turkmenistan to North Afghanistan and Tajikistan, building Dashti Joom Hydropower Dam at the Tajik-Afghan border. “It will help the normalisation of the situation and restoration of the economic life in Afghanistan”, he added.
Source: Business Recorder, 2010-02-05
Work starts on Mazar-i-Sharif line
Uzbek national railway UTY has begun construction of the Hayratan to Mazar-i-Sharif railway.
Construction of Afghan railway launched
AFGHANISTAN: A ceremony on January 22 marked the start of construction of a 75 km rail link from Uzbekistan to the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. The line is being built by Uzbek national railway UTY, which said it will be ‘a vivid testimony to the friendly relations between the two countries.’
More
Source: Railway Gazette International, 2010-01-27
Uzbekistan signs Mazar-i-Sharif contracts
Uzbek president resolves to adopt measures on construction of railroad Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif
28 November 2009 18:31:13 +5 GMT
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov signed a resolution “On measures on realization of project “Designing, construction, establishment and commission to exploitation of railroad line between Hairatan and Mazar-e-Sharif” on 20 November.
The resolution was adopted for developing Trans-Afghan railway corridor, expanding transit transportation on railway line Tashguzar-Boisun-Kumkurgan, and broadening export potential of enterprises of Uzbekistan.
Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) adopted decision on 30 September 2009 to allocate grant to the Government of Afghanistan to finance project “Designing, construction, establishment and commission to exploitation of railroad line between Hairatan and Mazar-e-Sharif” and Uzbekistan Temir Yollari state joint stock railway company was selected as general contractor.
The resolution said Uzbekistan Temir Yollari and Ministry of Public Works of Afghanistan initialled contract on construction of railroad for US$129 million.
The document noted that Uzbekistan Temir Yollari will participate at the project as general contractor and Boshtransloyiha OJSC as general designer, as well as legal entities, realizing goods (works and services) to general contractor in line with the signed agreements.
The resolution entrusted Uzbekistan Temir Yollari to sign agreements with Uzbekinvest national export-import company on insurance of life and health of all workers, engaged in the project, during their stay in Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan Temir Yollari in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior Affairs, National Security Service, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs was entrusted to adopt measures on signing memorandum of mutual understanding on guaranteeing security of personal, attracted to the project, construction equipment and infrastructure in the territory of Afghanistan with the authorized body of Afghanistan and Collective Security Forces, deployed in Afghanistan.
The resolution set several preferences to Uzbekistan Temir Yollari and its employees, who will participate in the project. In particular, the sum of additional payments to travel allowances, paid to employees of the Uzbek railway company, traveling to Afghanistan to realize the project, and the expenses on providing three meals a day are not included to taxable base to income taxes of legal entities and individuals.
The document said income tax will not be obliged to property, received and handed over within the structures of Uzbekistan Temir Yollari within the framework of the realized project.
Uzbekistan Temir Yollari was also exempted from custom payments, except fees for customs registration, for equipment and materials, imported and exported from Uzbekistan within the project, in line with the list, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan. The document also allowed to export some items, which were banned in line with the legislation.
Ministry of Economy of Uzbekistan in cooperation with Uzbekneftegaz national holding company were entrusted to supply combustive-lubricating materials to Uzbekistan Temir Yollari without interruption.
The ministry will also ensure realization of metal products and cement to the Uzbekistan Temir Yollari on direct agreements on average exchange prices.
Source: UzDaily.com, 2009-11-28
Bloomberg on Hayratan – Mazar-i-Sharif railway project
Bloomberg quotes me in Afghanistan’s First Railroad Aims to Undercut Taliban, which looks at the issues around the project to extend the Hayratan railway to Mazar-i-Sharif.
Note there are actually three locomotives from the Kabul – Darulaman railway!
ADB grants funds for Mazar-i-Sharif railway
Exciting news from the Asian Development Bank today. Uzbekistan’s national railway UTY is to be awarded contracts to build a 75 km line from the Hayratan freight terminal to Mazar-i-Sharif by June 2011.
ADB is providing a USD165m grant towards the USD170m cost, with the Afghan government paying the remaining USD5m. Normal tendering procedures are being relaxed as UTY is the only organisation in a position to build and operate the line. As it will be in effect an extension of the Uzbek rail network, the line will be to 1520 mm gauge.
“Security remains an ongoing concern”, but “the project area is deemed relatively safe”.
ADB-Funded Railway to Help Afghanistan Improve Regional Links, Boost Growth
30 September 2009
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Afghanistan’s push to develop reliable, safer, sustainable transport systems that boost growth, and increase connectivity with neighboring countries are getting support from a $165 million Asian Development Bank (ADB) grant.
The funds will be used to build a 75 kilometer single line railway between Hairatan – a northern town at the border with Uzbekistan that is the gateway for almost half of Afghanistan’s imports and much of its humanitarian relief goods – and Mazar-e-Sharif, the second largest city in the country. The project will also upgrade Hairatan station yard, build a transshipment terminal and provide institutional support to develop a railway sector plan.
Afghanistan has the potential to play a key role as a transit route in Central Asia for goods going to ports in Pakistan and the Caspian, and onwards to South and East Asia, the Middle East and Europe. However, trade volumes are heavily constrained by weak transport systems. In the case of Hairatan, freight railed from inside Uzbekistan stops at the border and then has to be offloaded and reloaded into trucks, causing delays and raising costs.
“This line will boost freight volumes, lower costs, raise the profile of Afghanistan as a transit route, and complement two major transport corridors being developed under the Central Asia Regional Cooperation Program (CAREC),” said Balabhaskara Reddy Bathula, Transport Specialist with ADB’s Central and West Asia Department. The project is the first phase of a larger rail network planned for the country, including links to Herat, Tajikistan and Pakistan and is part of CAREC’s broad push to improve connectivity throughout the region, supporting growth and cutting poverty.
Security remains an ongoing concern in Afghanistan and while the project area is deemed relatively safe, the Government has pledged to provide all necessary security support. The project will also bring environmental benefits with double-stack containers helping increase fuel efficiency.
To overcome past problems linked to transport projects, such as cost overruns and delays, the Government will be entering into direct contracts with Uzbekistan Railways Company, both for the engineering, procurement and construction of the new facilities, and for their operation and maintenance. The decision to relax normal procurement procedures is justified by the fact that the new railway will be a de-facto extension of the company’s current line from Termez in Uzbekistan to Hairatan; it does not require investments in new rolling stock; there are no comparable companies in the region capable of designing, building, operating and maintaining a line based on the Uzbekistan system; and the company has proprietary preliminary designs, which accelerates project readiness, saving considerable time and costs.
ADB’s grant covers 97% of the total project cost of $170 million, with the Government contributing $5 million. The Ministry of Public Works will be the executing agency, with June 2011 the estimated completion date.
Source: Asian Development Bank, 2009-09-30
Hayratan to Mazar-i-Sharif project details
Asian Development Bank has details of the Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif Railway Project. “Interesting to see it all in one place” says Michael G Erickson who spotted it.
The Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif railway link is part of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program. It fits with Transport Corridors 3 and 6, which connect Central Asia to South Asia and the region to the Caucasus and the Middle East. Although the road between Hairatan and Mazar-e-Sharif has been improved, it cannot meet national and regional traffic needs. A railway from Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif will (i) improve links between Afghanistan and neighboring countries, as well as nearby seaports; and (ii) develop an integrated transport network that caters for different cargo.
The existing Uzbek railway network stops at the border town of Hairatan. This is a gateway to Afghanistan, but it has reached its full capacity (4,000 tons of cargo per month). The flow of goods from Central Asia to Afghanistan will increase from 25,000 tons to 40,000 tons per month over the next few years. To prevent bottlenecks at the border, the existing Uzbek railway at Hairatan needs to be extended into Afghanistan, in a first intervention, to Mazar-e-Sharif. At a later stage, the railway network will be extended to Herat in the west and Tajikistan in the east. The railway will service commercial and non-military cargo.
The project is a priority one for Afghanistan. It fits with its Railway Development Plan. It is closely linked to ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy for 2009-2013, which identifies the construction and rehabilitation of national roads and railways as a priority. It is also consistent with the CAREC Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy.
The infrastructure:
The Project outputs will be (i) around 80kms railway line from Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif with support facilities including rail/road connections and terminals constructed; (ii) established signaling and management information system; (iii) productive use of available land and social safeguarded; (iv) safeguarded and protected environment along railway corridor; (vi) strengthened institutions and management capacity.
Source: Asian Development Bank
Meanwhile, New rail line between Uzbekistan, Afghanistan to serve strategic purpose, reports Central Asia Online:
The construction of the 67km-long line is included in a memorandum of understanding to expand trade and economic opportunities that was recently signed by Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and the Asian Development Bank.
A technical team from Uzbek Railway is scheduled to arrive in Afghanistan shortly to prepare for construction. The cost of the project is estimated to be US$120 million, an amount that will provided by the Asian Development Bank. Construction is tentatively slated to begin in December.
Source: Central Asia Online, 2009-08-29
€3bn needed for Herat – Mazar-i-Sharif railway
ECO Urged to Invest in Iran-Afghanistan Railway Project
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Minister of Road and Transportation Hamid Behbahani called on the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) to provide Afghanistan with 3 billion Euros in credit to accomplish a railway project linking the country to Iran.
“To finish Iran-Afghanistan railway project, ECO is needed to provide 3 billion Euros in credit for the construction of a 1,250 km-long railway segment between Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif (in Afghanistan),” Behbahani said in a ceremony to mark the arrival in Tehran of the first freight train ferrying cargo from Islamabad to Istanbul via Tehran.
[more]Source: Fars News Agency 2009-08-23
Mazar-i-Sharif railway work to start by end of year
A report from a Chinese news agency saying work is to start imminently on extending the Uzbekistan – Hayratan railway line by 60 km to Mazar-i-Sharif.
Unfortunately the website of the Ministry for Commerce and Industries is “under maintenance” so I can’t check the source. The Rah-e-Nejat also has a website, but I can’t find the story using Google translate.
In the past there have been reports claiming that the German military is keen to see this line built, for bringing in supplies to German forces in Afghanistan. Presumably the line would be built to 1520 mm gauge, for compatability with the Uzbek rail network.
Construction of first railway in Afghanistan to begin within 4 months
KABUL, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — Work for the construction of first Afghan railway to begin within the next four months, a local newspaper reported Thursday.
The essential project, costing 120 million U.S. dollars, would connect Uzbekistan to Mazar-e-Sharif city in north Afghanistan, the daily Rah-e-Nejat quoted a press release of Ministry for Commerce and Industries as reporting.
Afghanistan’s border town Hairatan is connected with Uzbekistan and the work for 60 km railway would begin from Hairatan possibly in this December, the newspaper further said.
A technical team from Uzbekistan would soon visit Afghanistan in connection with the project which is financed by the Asian Development Bank, the newspaper added.
Source: Xinhua 2009-08-14
(thanks to Michael G Erickson for spotting this)