TEHRAN, Nov. 09 (MNA) – It is predicted that three million tons of products would be imported to and exported from the country annually if Khaf-Herat Railway to Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif is connected.

Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami made the comments on Monday and added, “Once Khaf-Herat railway is connected, the objective of transit of 1.8 million tons of goods would be realized.”

It is scheduled that Khaf-Herat Railway would be inaugurated in late November, the roads minister added.

He pointed to the key and important role of this railway project in the increasing volume of trade exchanges and transit volume of the country as well as the expansion of economic relations between Iran and Afghanistan and added, “Rail connection of the Islamic Republic of Iran to neighboring countries and its development from all possible routes has always been emphasized to increase the share of transit by rail.”

By implementing this giant project, which is supported and invested by the Islamic Republic of Iran, suitable ways will be provided for the country to transit cargo and passenger to Afghanistan and also to other destinations including neighboring and European countries such as Turkey and the Indian Ocean, he said, adding, ‘Under such circumstances, a new transit route will be activated for the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Eslami pointed to the high potential of this railway for transporting mining and mineral products on the border between Iran and Afghanistan and added, “It is predicted that about three million tons of products would be imported to and exported from the country annually in the first years of launching this railway project.”

The 130-kilometer-long Khaf-Herat railroad connecting Iran and Afghanistan has high potential for transit to the eastern neighboring country.

Khaf-Herat railway will be 130 km long, of which 70 km is inside Iran soil and 60 km is inside Afghanistan.

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