Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, June 4 / Trend, G. Hasanov/
Turkmenistan is preparing to hold a solemn ceremony for the laying the foundation of the "Atamirat-Imamnazar-Akina Railway" which is part of the planned Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan Railway," the Turkmen government informed.
The president of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai and the president of Tajikistan Emomoli Rahmon are expected to attend the opening ceremony by invitation of the president of Turkmenistan Gurbanguli Berdimuhammedov.
According to the report, the event came into fruition through a Memorandum of Understanding between Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan which was signed on March 20 in Ashgabat on this project. The sides that are interested in the realization of the projects are awaiting support from international financial organizations such as Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and others.
The construction of the Turkmenistan section of the Atamirat-Imamnazar railway will be carried out by the Turkmen Ministry of Railway Transport. Afghanistan has also offered to construct a railway line between the Afghan cities of Imamnazar and Akina.
The president of Turkmenistan Berdimuhammadov underscored at a recent government meeting that the construction of a new main line will be "another visible symbol of the true good-neighborly cooperation and will contribute to the realization of the transport-transit potential of these three countries".
Ashgabat and Kabul had previously signed an intergovernmental framework agreement on construction of 85 kilometer long railway line "Atamirat-Imamnazar" (Turkmnensitan) and 38 kilometer long railway line between the settlements Akina and Andhoy (Afghanistan).
Turkmenistan shares land borders with Kazakhstan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, and on the Caspian Sea, the country borders with Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Iran. In recent years regional transport projects have been initiated.
In May 2013, a project on connecting the railway lines on the Kazakh-Turkmen border. The two countries are carrying out the "North-South" project jointly with Iran, in 2007 a tripartite agreement was signed. The railway networks of Iran and Turkmenistan are expected to be connected by the end of the year.