In recent years, instability in the global geopolitical situation, changing geography of economic centers and gaps in logistics chains have forced states to look for new transport corridors. International transport corridors are not only a key factor in economic growth, but also an important tool for ensuring regional political stability and cooperation.
From this perspective, the Trans-Afghan Railway project is of crucial importance for strengthening Central Asia’s position in the global trading system, expanding access to seaports and accelerating regional integration processes.
The Trans-Afghan railway line being built as part of the project is 647 km long and will allow for the transportation of 16 million tons of cargo per year. It is expected that the transportation time along this route will be reduced to 3-5 days. In combination with the existing Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif railway line, the efficiency of the project may increase even more.
The Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif line, built in 2011 with the participation of Uzbekistan Railways, is the only stable railway route connecting Afghanistan with neighboring countries, and most of the international humanitarian aid is delivered via this line.
The importance of this corridor for Uzbekistan is that the landlocked country needs to cross the territory of at least two countries to enter the international market. New transport corridors will reduce the cost of export and import operations, increase trade volumes and have a positive impact on price stability in the domestic market.
The possibility of access to the Indian Ocean through the ports of Pakistan will allow Uzbekistan to establish direct trade relations with the countries of South Asia, Africa, North and South America.
At the same time, this corridor is also important for Pakistan itself, since it creates an opportunity to enter the Central Asian market, increase trade turnover and develop political and social ties. From a geopolitical point of view, this corridor is of great interest to Russia and Belarus.
The reason is that the distance of sea freight from Russia to Pakistan is about 13,000 km, while with multimodal transportation the distance is almost half as short – 6,114 km. This, in turn, increases economic efficiency, shortens logistics chains and significantly reduces cargo delivery times.
In order to coordinate transportation along the North-South route and their direction to the territory of Uzbekistan, in 2023 in Tashkent, within the framework of the first transport forum of the SCO member states, a Memorandum on the development of the international transport corridor “Belarus – Russia – Kazakhstan – Uzbekistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan” was signed.
If another railway project with the participation of Uzbekistan is implemented – the railway “China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan,” this will create another convenient route for the exit of Chinese products to the ports of Pakistan and will further increase the volume of transit through the Trans-Afghan Corridor.
China’s investment in Pakistan exceeds $60 billion, and this project also meets their strategic interests. The Gulf countries are also interested in participating in the construction of the railway, as they intend to use this corridor to deliver oil and oil products to the CIS market.
As the head of our state emphasized, “Afghanistan, which for centuries has played the role of a buffer in confrontations between global states and regional centers of power, must now prove itself in a new peacekeeping mission – to act as a connecting bridge between Central and South Asia. An example of such mutually beneficial interregional cooperation can be the Trans-Afghan Corridor construction project.” These words once again confirm the geopolitical and economic significance of the project.
Thus, the Trans-Afghan Railway project will contribute not only to the development of cargo infrastructure, but also to the strengthening of sustainable economic cooperation in Central and South Asia, ensuring the integration of Afghanistan into the regional economy, increasing trade volumes, reducing transportation costs and strengthening political relations between the states. It is expected that the implementation of this corridor will open up new geostrategic opportunities for Uzbekistan, turn the country into a regional transit center and help take a worthy place on world trade routes.
By Shokhjakhon Shikhnazarov,
Chief Specialist,
Center for the Study of Transport Problems
Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan
