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Turkey is ready to join the Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan transport corridor, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said during his state visit to Turkmenistan from May 29-31, Turkmen television reported today.
"Joining the North-South transport corridor is important for us," Gul said. "Turkmenistan holds a prominent place among the fastest growing countries, by making a significant contribution to the world development. A Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway section has been recently opened."
"We also considered the issue of opening a new Turkmenistan-Turkey highway," Gul said.
The issues of cooperation in the international transport infrastructure, in particular, the implementation of road and sea routes through the Caucasus to Turkey were discussed during the negotiations in accordance with the previous agreements.
Turkmenistan borders with Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan on land and Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Iran on the Caspian Sea. The regional transport projects have been recently intensified. A large-scale reconstruction of the Turkmenbashi sea port is being prepared. The motorways are being upgraded.
A project on connecting the railways on the Kazakh-Turkmen border was launched this month. In general, two neighboring countries are implementing the "North-South" project together with Iran. A trilateral inter-state agreement was signed in 2007. The Iranian and Turkmen railway networks are expected to be connected by late 2013.
The regional project will open an access to Central Asia and the Persian Gulf for the European and Asian countries. A similar opportunity will appear for transit of goods from countries in South and Southeast Asia, from the shores of the Indian Ocean to the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe -- through Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.
According to preliminary estimates, primarily on this highway will be transported to 3-5 million tons of cargo a year will be transported through this main line at the initial stage. Later, the figure will increase to 10-12 million tons. The project was implemented with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank.
Daily Planning News