Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - Uzbekistan will begin work on the construction of a railway that will connect Tashkent with Afghanistan and Islamabad in the spring. This was reported by The News International (Pakistan).

This issue was discussed by the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaki and Minister of Transport of Uzbekistan Ilhom Makhkamov during a meeting at the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Islamabad.

The publication notes that the Uzbek side promised to train Afghan personnel for the maintenance of the railway.

The estimated cost of the project, which will connect Central and South Asia, is US$4.8 billion. The road will be 573 km long.

The official representative of the Ministry of Finance of Afghanistan, Ahmad Wail Haqmal, noted that each country will finance the construction of its own section of the railway. 

A delegation from Afghanistan will soon visit Uzbekistan to discuss the technical issues of this project.