Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Jan. 12 / Trend H. Hasanov /
The Iranian company Pars Energy is implementing a project on design and turnkey construction of a railway line along the route Bereket-Etrek (west of Turkmenistan - the border of Iran), the locomotive depot at the station "Bereket", sidings, stations and infrastructure in Turkmenistan.
According to the press release, the total contract cost is estimated at $696 million. The length of the southern section of Bereket Etrek will hit 256.5 kilometers. The project is realized the Istisna Agreement signed between the Turkmen government and the Islamic Development Bank in 2010.
Three countries - Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are involved in the international project North-South. The new route of the New Uzen-Bereket-Etrek-Gurgen is intended to significantly reduce the distance between Europe and Asia. The new way will link the countries of the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf through Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia and the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe, which is 3 times smaller than the way through the Suez Canal.
Roughly 722.5 kilometers will run through Turkmenistan, 82 kilometers through Iran and 130 kilometers through Kazakhstan. The Turkmen Ministry of Railway Transport constructs the northern section of the railway line from Bereket to the border with Kazakhstan.
The length of this section is 466 kilometers. It is necessary to build seven stations, 13 sidings, over 200 bridges of various types.