VZCZCXRO3805
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPOD RUEHPW
RUEHYG
DE RUEHNT #0825 1471220
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271221Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0935
INFO ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CDR USTRANSCOM COMMAND SURGEON SCOTT AFB IL
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 0001
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS TASHKENT 000825 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR SCA (DEUTSCH AND KROL) 
MANILA FOR US DIRECTOR AT ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK 
USAID FOR ACTING ADMINISTRATOR FULGHAM 
FROM AMBASSADOR NORLAND 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PREL PGOV PHUM ELTN UZ
SUBJECT: Asian Development Bank Eager to Move on Afghan Rail Line to 
Mazar-e-sharif 
 
REF: TASHKENT 717 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) On the margins of a May 22 economic conference in Tashkent 
devoted to President Karimov's approach to the global economic 
crisis, attended by numerous representatives of international 
financial institutions, the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Director 
General for Central and West Asia, Juan Miranda, pulled Ambassador 
aside to raise the issue of extending the rail line which currently 
ends in Hairaton (just across the Uzbek border in Afghanistan) to 
Mazar-e-sharif, 75 kilometers further into Afghanistan and on the 
Ring Road.  Miranda, who had just met with Uzbek First Deputy Prime 
Minister Rustam Azimov, said ADB strongly supports extending the 
rail line and is rushing "full speed ahead" to complete its 
feasibility study by October.  He expects the price tag for the 
project to come in at around USD 80 million (less than the USD 120 
million that one Uzbek Railways official estimated the project 
might cost).  He says the Uzbeks could build it, but he would want 
American supervision.  Regardless of who might get the contract, he 
urged "lots of phone calls" to the ADB board of governors to keep 
this project moving forward. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) As noted reftel, the rail extension to Mazar offers a 
potentially transformational shift in regional transportation 
infrastructure that could advance our goals in Afghanistan as well 
as in linking Central and South Asia.  The ADB supports the 
project, as do the Uzbeks, who want the contract to build the 
railroad but also hope to benefit economically once it is in place. 
In a brief conversation on May 22, Deputy PM Azimov made clear to 
the Ambassador that he would like the ADB to support this project 
(it was he who put Miranda on to the Ambassador earlier in the 
day).  With U.S. capitalization of the ADB expected to double, and 
USAID resources for Afghanistan also increasing significantly, this 
project appears from our vantage point to offer a tangible and 
realistic objective in support of our goals in the region.  We 
strongly encourage ADB and USAID support. 
NORLAND