Islamic Development Bank supports construction of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railroad
DUSHANBE. May 24 (Interfax) - The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) supports a project to construct a railroad from Turkmenistan to Tajikistan passing through Afghanistan, the bank said in a statement.
"This is a very important regional project. We are interested in implementing projects that benefit more than one country. In the near future we will gather to discuss the issue of financing the Tajik part of the railroad," the IDB's President Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al Madani is quoted as saying in a statement.
At present, Tajikistan's Transport Ministry is compiling a feasibility study for the construction of the section passing through the country's territory. It is also determining a route.
By connecting with Turkmenistan through Afghanistan, Tajikistan will be able to eliminate its transport dependence on Uzbekistan and join up with the network of railroads in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to the Caspian Sea and, later, potentially to the Persian Gulf.
On March 20, the heads of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan signed a memorandum of understanding to build a main railroad that will connect the three countries and be extended to bypass Uzbekistan. Iran, Chin and Kyrgyzstan have also expressed interest in the project and are willing to hook the railroad up to their own transport systems.
The cost of the project is not yet known, nor are the potential investors or the dates of construction. However, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow said at the end of March that construction will commence in the first week of this July in the Lebap Province of Turkmenistan.
Established in 1973, the IDB currently unites 56 states with predominantly Muslim populations.