Uzbekistan Ratifies Agreement for Trans-Afghan Railway Feasibility Study

Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree on February 4 ratifying an international agreement to prepare a feasibility study for the Naybabad-Kharlachi section of the Trans-Afghan Railway.

The framework agreement involves the transport ministries of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Uzbekistan's Ministry of Transport was designated as the competent authority for implementation, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will notify Kabul and Islamabad that internal procedures are complete for the agreement to enter into force.

The deal builds on a tripartite document signed on July 17, 2025, outlining cooperation on the Termez-Kharlachi railway corridor. The planned route runs through Termez, Naybabad, Maidanshahr, Logar and Kharlachi, forming part of the broader Trans-Afghan Railway project to strengthen Central-South Asia transport links.

The feasibility study will be commissioned by the Tripartite Project Office for the Development Strategy of International Transport Corridors under Uzbekistan Railways. Established in Tashkent in May 2023, the office has branches in Kabul and Islamabad.

First proposed in 2018, the project was initially estimated at $5 billion for up to 20 million tons of annual cargo. Later assessments varied: Uzbekistan Railways cited $4.6 billion in July 2022 with a five-year construction period; Pakistan's Ministry of Railways estimated $8.2 billion in December 2024. Recent figures place the overall cost at around $7 billion, with a public-private partnership under a Build-Operate-Transfer model under consideration.