Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov discussed cooperation prospects with Russian Railways (RZhD) CEO Oleg Belozerov, local TV channel Altyn Asyr reported on March 28.
"The participation of Russian companies is very promising in projects to modernize and electrify Turkmenistan's railways and related infrastructure and digitalize production processes," the report said.
In 2021, RZhD signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkmendemiryollary (Turkmen Railways) agency. The Russian side has offered its technology with the possible localization of the production of some components and units at Turkmenistan's enterprises.
Besides, the parties discussed two significant projects for the construction and electrification of Turkmenabat-Ashgabat-Turkmenbashy (1150 kilometers) and Ashgabat-Dashoguz (522 kilometers) railways.
RZhD is interested in involving Turkmenistan in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), promoted by Russia, India, and Iran since 2000.
The INSTC runs along the railways of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran and then along the sea coast to the Persian Gulf and South Asian countries. As a result, the transportation distance is more than halved than the maritime route through the Suez Canal.
RZhD expects that by 2025 the total volume of export traffic from Russia through this corridor could reach more than 5 million tonnes per year.
Ashgabat is developing its transnational railway infrastructure.
In 2014, a 900-kilometer railway was launched from the Kazakh steppes through the Karakum desert to the mountainous province of Gulistan in northern Iran.
Two years later, the Atamurat (Turkmenistan)-Aqina (Afghanistan) railway was built, which could become part of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan (TAT) project with the prospect of reaching China.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat
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