It looks like they are really going for it. Central Asia is getting ready for a railway across Afghanistan, with the latest step in that direction being a possible 500-million dollar investment from Kazakhstan. That would be significant money, but it would also bring significant benefits to the region.
The half a billion dollars from Kazakhstan were announced by the Taliban, so it is not quite confirmed yet. However, the Islamist group claimed that Kazakh deputy PM Serik Zhumangarin agreed to invest 500 million dollars in the trans-Afghan railway in a meeting with Afghan officials.
Reportedly, the railway is supposed to start at the Turkmen border in the northwest, go through the city of Herat and continue on to Pakistan. Such a route would provide the landlocked Central Asian countries with a direct rail connection to the Indian Ocean.
A long way off still
Besides Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan have taken tangible steps towards making rail in Afghanistan a reality. The two countries signed an agreement to research the economic viability of various possible routes through Afghanistan, which includes the route that is reportedly getting the Kazakh investment.
More money is most definitely needed to build the railway. The Eurasian Development Bank earlier came to the conclusion that it would cost nearly 5 billion dollars – a long way off still. If Kazakhstan confirms its 500 million dollar investment, the counter will be at around 750 million dollars, based on publicly available information.
