TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkmenistan's president underlined the economic advantages of the North-South international railway corridor for his country and the entire region, and voiced willingness to complete the remaining part of the project this fall."The construction of the North-South railway should be completed in October," President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedovsaid at a cabinet meeting, according to the Azeri Trend news agency.
The North-South project is implemented on the basis of the agreement signed by Turkmenistan, Iran and Kazakhstan in 2007. In May 2013 the project for merging the railroads on the Kazakh-Turkmen border was launched.
Currently, work is underway at the Iranian and Turkmen sites. This regional project will provide access for European and Asian countries to Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
The total length of this section will be more that 300 kilometers. Over 180 kilometers were constructed by the Turkmen Transport Ministry in 2013.
During a state visit to Ashgabat in June, 2013, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that Turkey is ready to join the Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan transport corridor. "Joining the North-South transport corridor is important for us too," Gul said.
According to preliminary forecasts, initially, this highway will transport three to five million tons of cargo per year and in the future this volume will increase to 10-12 million tons. The project is being implemented with the assistance of Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank.
Turkmenistan borders on land with Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and on the Caspian Sea with Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Iran.
By Fars News Agency
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