Turkmen leader Berdimuhamedov and the President of IRA Mohammad Ashraf Ghani took part in the opening ceremony.
On January 14, the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Afghan leader Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and officials of the two countries took part in the launch of the Akina-Andkhoy railway, modern international fiber-optic communication lines and the Kerki-Shibergan power transmission line. It was reported to CentralAsia.news by the press office of the Turkmen MFA.
The length of the railway line from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan is 30 kilometers. Head of the Türkmendemirýollary agency Azat Atamuradov said that it is a part of the Asian International Rail Transport Corridor, and will also become one of the important links of the Lazurite Corridor. As part of the ceremony, a train with 20 loaded wagons departed from Akina station to Andkhoy town.
The head of the IRA Railway Department Mohammad Yamma Shams marked that the commissioning of this railway will expand transport and transit potential of the country.
Memorandum of Understanding on the construction of the Akina (Turkmenistan) — Andkhoy (IRA) railway branch was signed between the relevant government departments in Ashgabat in February 2019.
The length of the Kerki (Turkmenistan) — Shibergan (Afghanistan) power transmission line is 153 kilometers, and its capacity is 500 kW. It is part of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan transmission line project. The corresponding electricity will be transported from Turkmenistan to several towns in the IRA (in particular to Mazar-i-Sharif) and Pakistan.
Prior to the commissioning of the power transmission line, Chief Director of the Department for the Coordination of Water and Energy Issues of Afghanistan Khan Mohammad Takal noted that this project will provide the IRA with additional opportunities to use the electricity market in the region. Minister of Energy of Turkmenistan Charymyrat Purchekov said that this transmission line will expand the geography of Turkmen electricity exports.
As part of the opening ceremony, a technological online simulation of the model for supplying electricity through the corresponding power transmission line was realized.
Then a video presentation of the launch of the international fiber-optic communication system and transit routes Ymamnazar (Turkmenistan) — Akina (Afghanistan) and Serhetabat (Turkmenistan) — Turgundi (Afghanistan) took place.
Before that, the head of the Türkmenaragatnaşyk agency Hajimyrat Khudaygulyev said that these fiber-optic routes will serve as the main information bridge between states. Minister of Communications and Information Technologies of IRA Masume Hawari underlined that these lines will speed up the process of integrating e-government, as well as improve the quality of the internet in Afghanistan.
Berdimuhamedov noted that all three projects will give a powerful impetus to the development of the Turkmen and Afghan peoples. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani highlighted the importance of projects in the field of social and economic reconstruction of Afghanistan.
