With the agreement signed between the Afghanistan Railway Administration and the Russian company Gama Group, the tender for the fourth part of the Khaf-Herat Railway Project was completed. The railway, which will cost an estimated 53 million dollars, will be 47 kilometers long and is planned to be completed within 2 years.
Bakht Rahman Sharafat, Chairman of Afghanistan Railway Administration (ARA), said that the second phase of the fourth part of the Khaf-Herat Railway Project, which will reach Herat International Airport, is the last phase of the project. With the completion of this phase, Afghanistan will be connected to Europe and Central Asia via railway. Continuing his statements, Sharafat said, "This project, which we will realize with the great support of Russia, connects the whole of Central Asia, including Russia, to Afghanistan."
Noor Ahmad Islamjar emphasized the economic importance of Herat, of which he is the governor, at the national and regional level and in neighboring countries, and stated that the Khaf-Herat Railway will play an important role in connecting Afghanistan to Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Europe. Herat Governor continued his statements as follows: “The Khaf-Herat railway line is sacred for the people of Herat and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. “This will connect cultures, nations and the world.”
In the statement made by the Gama Group president, it was stated that the implementation works of the Khaf-Herat Railway Project will be completed by Russian, Turkish and Afghan partners within the next two years. Gama Group President Zia Rahman Farahi shared important information by saying, "Russia and the Turkish State also support the implementation project, which is planned to be completed within two years." According to the Afghanistan Railway Administration, with the completion of the Herat-Khaf Railway Project, the expansion of the railway network in Farah, Nimroz, Helmand and Kandahar provinces will also be achieved.
Speaking to the Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency, an Iranian bureaucrat stated that Afghanistan is a landlocked country and that the government is seriously following the opening of the railway project, and that thanks to the stages of the railway completed so far, the railway network will extend from Herat to Northern Afghanistan. He stated that it was extended to Mazar-i Sharif and connected to Uzbekistan and larger regions of Afghanistan to China via Uzbekistan's existing railways.
The railway project in question will not only be limited to connecting Iran's Khaf city to Afghanistan's Herat city, but when completed, it will be an important part of the approximately 2.000 km long East-West railway corridor covering China, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and Europe.