Increasing trade exchange between Asian countries and reducing transport costs and travel times are the reasons why a higher number of countries in this region have decided to implement inter-regional railway projects.
To this end, transport ministers from Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China have decided to develop a direct railway link to facilitate freight transport between these states. This route will also encourage railway freight transport between Asia and Europe. “The 392-km line will connect the five countries and will increase the turnover of commercial activities in the region, while reducing transit costs”, declared Ali Nikzad, the Iranian Minister of Transport, who mentioned that the Iranian network is connected to Turkmenistan through the city of Gorgan to Iraq, to Azerbaijan (through Astara) and to Afghanistan. The most complicated part in building the line is the 270 km on the Tajik territory because it includes the construction of 16 km of tunnels and 47 brid-
ges for which investments of USD 8-10 Million / km of line are necessary. “In the first phase, infrastructure works require USD 170 Million, while USD 97 Million are necessary. The construction of structures aimed to prevent natural disasters demands investments of up to USD 30 Million”, said the Transport Minister in Tajikistan, Nizam Hakim Oaf.
If the railway has awaken the interest of the other countries, the authorities in Kyrgyzstan are still sceptical as the government strongly supports the project for the construction of the Trans-Asian line to connect Kyrgyzstan to China and Uzbekistan, but for now it is not clear yet how the Kyrgyz part of the line will be financed. However, President Almazbek Atambaev said that his country “should get maximum benefits” from a neighbour as powerful as China. The fact that the authorities agree with the implementation of the project could exclude the extension of the line to China to include Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, the last country having already launched the proposal for the construction of the line. “The project has not yet been discussed, but it doesn’t present much interest for Kyrgyzstan because there is another railway project, China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan, much more important from the economical and strategic point of view. Most pro-bably, Kyrgyz authorities will not give their green light for the rail project Iran-Afghanistan-Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan”, explained the Transport Minister, Kalykbek Sultanov.
Nevertheless, Tajikistan hopes to reach an agreement with Kyrgyzstan on the construction of the railway connection Iran-China and to negotiate it with the Kyrgyz side, especially since all problems related to the construction of the line on the Tajik territory have been solved. The project consists in the reconstruction of the line between the cities of Dushanbe and Vahdat. The project for the construction of the Vahdat section to Kyrgyzstan border was elaborated and approved in the investment period 2012-2014. The authorities have already launched facilities for the implementation of the project. Therefore, the government announced to grant generous fee exemptions for foreign engineering companies that would involve in the initiation of works for the construction of a railway tunnel between Dushanbe and Vahdat. The Ministry of Finances has proposed the cut of the VAT and of the customs fees up to USD 27.5 Million for the import of equipments and machines necessary in the construction works.
Negotiations have revealed that Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan will not abandon the project which is so important for national and regional economies. However, “the project of a line on the route Iran-Kyrgyzstan-China, via Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan does exist. Consequently, there is a certain competition between countries in the region”, declared the deputy director of the Centre for Strategic Studies, Sayfullo Safarov.
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