The World Bank Group has launched a Request for Expression of Interest (RFEOI) from interested firms to deliver technical consultancy services for the planned Mazar­-e­-Sharif-Herat railway project in Afghanistan. 

The railway project will connect the existing Hairatan to Mazar­e­Sharif railway and a railway under construction from Khaf (Iran) to Herat. The facility will also connect to the existing cross­border railway stations with Turkmenistan and forms part of the regional operational railway lines. Th project will also be a part f other railway initiatives under discussion including the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Corridors; Lapis­Lazuli Corridor; the proposed Turkmenistan­ Afghanistan­Tajikistan (TAT) railway corridor; the Five­Nations railway corridor being planned among the PRC, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran; and Trans­Afghan Railway (Afghanistan­Uzbekistan­Iran); Chabahar transport and transit corridor; and International NorthSouth Transport Corridor (INSTC). 

The main objective of the technical advisory group is to support the Government of Afghanistan in delivering the project. Specifically, the consultant shall support project preparation and structuring, covering inter alia: (i) support to harness regional cooperation for effective project initiation, (ii) project structuring and financing options at regional and domestic level, (iii) preparation of a detailed risk analysis relevant to this stage of the project, and (iv) identification of the necessary institutional strengthening activities at the GoA level, including to ensure the regulatory mandate of the Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA). The services will be Bank­ executed, and the GoA will be the main end­beneficiary. The firm will report to both ARA and Ministry of Finance of the GoA (MOF), and the World Bank. 

The deadline for the submission of documents is on March 7, 2019.