TEHRAN – Transport and Urban Development Deputy Minister Abbas Khatibi said construction of the Iranian section of the Khaf-Herat railway will be completed by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020).

“Khaf-Herat railroad is one of the largest projects we are working to put into operation by the end of this year,” Khatibi told ISNA on Thursday.

According to the official, of the total 191 kilometers (km) of the railroad 132 km is going to be constructed by Iran. 

“The 132-km project is divided into two major sections, 77 kilometers of which is inside Iranian territory and 62 kilometers is in Afghanistan territory,” Khatibi said.

Regarding the project progress, Khatibi noted that the inland section is almost completed and there is only one station under construction with about 40 percent of physical progress.

As the official informed, implementation of this railway project has been accelerated in Iran and to improve the trend in Afghanistan as well, Iran is to train some Afghan workers.

Although the Afghan side of the project has not yet been implemented, Sputnik recently announced that Afghanistan has been in talks with Italian companies to build the fourth section of the railway, and Afghans appear to be more determined to commence their part of the project this year. 

Khaf-Herat is part of Iran-Afghanistan rail corridor. The project, started in the fiscal year of 2007-2008, connects Iran’s eastern city of Khaf to Afghanistan’s western city of Ghoryan.

EF/