Bank of China supports Five Nations Railways Corridor Construction Project

In October 2010, an agreement to conduct feasibility studies on a railroad project that would connect Iran to Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan at a length of 2,100 km. ADB, World Bank, the Bank of China, and the US are international partners in this important project.

In December 2014, a preliminary agreement was signed between the five countries to determine the route to connect the nations. The railway is estimated to exceed $2 billion. In January 2016, preliminary work on the railway began in Xinjiang. Each country will be handling implementation independently.

As of 2018, Afghanistan was 50% complete in its feasibility study for the railway.

Per the 2014 agreement, each member country had to construct 2,100km of railway within the established time frame of five years.

The Asia Development Bank, Bank of China, World Bank and state governments of Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and China are all helping fund the railway.

The Five Nations Railway was discussed at the 25th meeting of the ECO Regional Planning Council(RPC) held in Tehran, Iran on 1-5 March, 2015 and High Authorities met regarding the Construction of China-Kyrgyz Republic-Tajikistan-Afghanistan to Iran railway line in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 8-9 December, 2014.

The project falls under multiple institutions, as follows: Government of Afghanistan (Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Commerce and Industries); other regional governments (Turkmenistan,Tajikistan, Iran, Kyrgyz Republic, and China); and international partners (ADB, World Bank, Bank of China, and the US).