Trade increases with Torghondi Railway as Hairatan-Mazar line remains closed

KABUL (TOLOnews): After the Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railway was closed for trade between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, the transportation of commodities through the Torghondi railway has increased.
According to the Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), 50 wagons of food materials were imported through the Torghondi railway within 24 hours.
“Yesterday, 50 wagons of commodities were imported via Torghondi port. The total weight is 3,360 metric tons. A major part of it is food materials,” said Abdul Sami, a spokesman for the ARA.
The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) said that the traders have been conducting trade through the four ports.
“The challenges that existed previously at the customs office do not exist now. Both the Central Asian nations and the South Asian countries can directly run their businesses through transit,” said the acting head of the ACCI.
This comes as Turkmenistan’s foreign ministry said that it has agreed on the establishment of a new corridor for the transportation of commodities through Afghanistan to South Asian Nations.
The Uzbekistan government closed the Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railway for exports and imports to Afghanistan.
The ARA said that a delegation of the caretaker government will visit Uzbekistan this week to negotiate the resumed operations of the Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railway.