Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Jan. 17 / Trend H. Hasanov /
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov signed a number of documents for the railway industry which in particular concerns the North-South major regional project, an official Turkmen source said today.
In particular resolutions on the 'Completion of the Bereket Etrek construction site of the Gyzylgaya-Bereket-Etrek railway' and 'Construction of the locomotive depot at the Bereket station' were signed.
This route is part of a larger project which is being implemented by Turkmenistan together with Iran and Kazakhstan. The intergovernmental agreement on the project was signed in 2007.
Turkmenistan signed a contract with the Iranian company Pars Energy for the construction of the Bereket Etrek railway site located on Turkmen territory in January 2010. The project was to complete in December last year.
'However, the work was not completed on time despite the Turkmen side being fully on time and fulfilling its partnership commitments by rendering Pars Energy all necessary assistance', a government report made in Ashgabat in September 2012 said.
Proceeding from the results of the consultations and negotiations with Tehran, a decision was then made on the need for terminating the contract with the company and making all the appropriate procedures in accordance with the generally accepted norms of international law on a voluntary bilateral basis.
The Turkmen president agreed to the proposal entrusting the implementation of the project independently. The North-South project is expected to open the way to Central Asia and the Persian Gulf for the European and Asian countries. A similar opportunity will appear to transit goods from the countries of South and South-East Asia, from the Indian Ocean to Northern and Eastern Europe through Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.
According to the preliminary forecasts, up to five million tons of cargo a year will be initially transported through this route and volumes will increase up to 10-12 million tons in future.
Earlier this year, the Turkmen government was reshuffled. In particular, Rozymyrat Seyitkulyev was dismissed from his post as deputy chairman of transport of the Cabinet of Ministers (Deputy Prime Minister) due to shortcomings in his work. Akmyrat Egeleev, who previously dealt with construction issues, replaced him.
