KABUL — The Taliban’s Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development on Thursday signed a contract with a private company for the second phase of the Wakhan Corridor Road project, which aims to connect Afghanistan to China.
At a ceremony in Kabul, Mohammad Younus Akhundzada, the Taliban’s minister for rural development, said the contract covers the construction of a 71-kilometer road segment in the northeastern region.
He stated that the project is valued at 143 million afghanis ($2 million), while the first phase cost 181 million afghanis ($2.5 million). He added that the funding comes from the national budget and that the remaining work on the first phase will also be completed.
The first phase spans 50 kilometers, and construction is currently underway, he said.
Despite the announcement, The Washington Post has reported that satellite imagery suggests no visible construction has taken place on the Wakhan Corridor road since August 2023. The images, provided by the commercial satellite company Maxar, raise questions about the actual progress of the project.
The report also noted that while Chinese companies have signed multiple agreements to extract Afghanistan’s rare minerals since the Taliban took power, Beijing has refrained from committing to major infrastructure projects in the country, including the Wakhan Corridor.
If completed, the Wakhan Corridor road would bypass Pakistan and establish a direct route between Afghanistan and China, significantly reducing travel time between Central Asia and China.
However, given the Taliban’s limited financial resources and China’s cautious approach to large-scale investment in Afghanistan, it remains unclear when—or if—the road will be completed.
