Afghanistan has started upgrading the Turgundi dry port on the border with Turkmenistan. That country is likely providing major financial support for the project. The landlocked countries of the region are hoping that improved infrastructure in Afghanistan will strengthen connections to Pakistan, and by extension, to the world via the Indian Ocean.
The dry port expansion covers a total of 50 acres. It includes additional warehouses and other unspecified facilities. “Dozens of development projects are currently underway in the province, and the Turgundi expansion project will bring a major economic transformation once completed”, the governor of the Herat province was quoted as saying by The Kabul Times.
In total, the upgrade is said to cost around 7 million dollars. Earlier reporting suggested that Turkmenistan would finance the project with around 5 million dollars.
Regional interest
Turkmenistan, as well as other Central Asian countries, have on various occasions expressed their willingness to help develop Afghan rail infrastructure. For example, Kazakhstan has said that it wants to invest 500 million dollars in a 120-kilometre railway from Turgundi towards the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
From there, the way is open not only to the Pakistani market, but also to the wider world through Pakistan’s ports. That is of great interest to the landlocked countries in the region, which are limited by geography in their trade opportunities.