Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Oct. 11 /Trend H. Hasanov/
High indices have been achieved at the road, rail and air transport facilities of Turkmenistan over nine months of 2013, the Turkmen government said on Tuesday.
According to the report, in particular, the dynamics of growth in the cargo and passenger transportation compared to the level of nine months of 2012 is as follows: the Ministry of Railway Transport - 117.1 and 102.2 per cent, Ministry of Motor Transport - 103.5 and 102.5 per cent, the Public Service of Maritime and River Transport - 100.2 and 208 per cent, Turkmenistan Airlines - 101.1 and 106 per cent.
Turkmenistan borders with Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan on land and with Azerbaijan, Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Iran in Caspian Sea.
Regional transport projects have been activated in recent years; large-scale reconstruction of seaport in Turkmenbashi is being prepared, highways are being modernized.
In May 2013 the project for merging the railroads on Kazakh-Turkmen border was launched. The North-South project is implemented by two neighbouring countries jointly with Iran. A trilateral intergovernmental agreement was signed in 2007.
The Iranian and Turkmen railway networks are expected to be connected till the end of the year.
This regional project will give European and Asian countries access to Central Asia and to Persian Gulf. Similar opportunity will appear for transporting cargo from Southern and South-Eastern Asian countries and from the shores of Indian Ocean to the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe through Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.
Moreover, the construction of another transport highway - "Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan" - has been launched. China, Kyrgyzstan and Iran may join it at later stages.