Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, July 21 / Trend, H. Hasanov /
Turkmenistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a loan agreement worth $125 million for 25 years within the international project of "North-South" railway construction in Ashgabat, an official Turkmen source said.
ADB Vice-President Xiaoyu Zhao arrived in Turkmenistan to sign the agreement.
This agreement envisages funding the purchase and installation of supply systems equipment, as well as alarm systems, communications systems, and the technical backup of Bereket-Buzkhun section, with a length of 311 kilometers of the Gyzylgaya-Bereket-Etrek railway.
The agreement envisages a five-year grace period.
The "North-South" will enable Turkmenistan to establish rail links with neighboring Kazakhstan, Russia, as well as the Persian Gulf states, and South Asia. It is expected that this branch can become a major route for transportation of such needed goods as oil, agricultural products, and textiles.
Turkmenistan, which borders on Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Iran, has significant reserves of oil and gas. As expected, a new branch will help reduce an approximately 680 km route of delivery of goods from Central Asia to Persian Gulf ports.
There will also be an opportunity to ensure that the local population has access to additional jobs, supports the development of small businesses, and find resources of coal, gold, and other minerals in regions which are adjacent to the new route.