KARACHI, Pakistan

Afghanistan plans to establish a "large-scale" railway network to establish regional connectivity and increase regional transit and transfers through the country.

The ambitious plan, billed as Mazar-e-Sharif-Herat-Kandahar Railway Project, has been approved by the country's Economic Commission, and will be completed with domestic revenue, said a statement from the office of the deputy prime minister for economic affairs on Monday, which did not mention the estimated cost of the project.

The 1,468-kilometer-long (912 miles) network, which will pass through 37 districts of nine Afghan provinces, aims to connect East Asia with Iran, Türkiye and Europe through Afghanistan.

It also aims to create the "shortest and most economical" route between Moscow and New Delhi through Afghanistan, connect Russia and Central Asia with South Asia and the sea ports through Afghanistan, and join Afghanistan with Iran's Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports, and Pakistan's Karachi and Gwadar ports.

The project, according to the statement, will be completed in two phases. In the first phase, the Mazar-e-Sharif-Herat section will span some 657 km (408 mi), while the second section starting from Herat and passing through Nimrouz, Farah, Helmand and Kandahar, and ending at Spin Bouldak, will have a length of 811 km (504 mi).

"According to the economic and technical studies, and taking into account the transit value, the value of the estimated transfer and the revenue, the work on the first phase of the project will commence this year," the statement concluded.