Azernews.Az

Turkmenistan intends to expand its ferry service with Russia in the Caspian Sea using the Astrakhan port of Olya, Russian media reports on Friday referring to the Governor of the Astrakhan region Alexander Zhilkin.

"Intensifying communication between the ports of Turkmenbashi and Olya has been discussed," Zhilkin told Interfax-South news agency after a meeting with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in Ashgabat. "The Turkmen President said that two ferries were ordered to be built in Croatia as I understand it, by late 2013. As a result, it will increase the transportation possibilities."

Ashgabat exports construction materials, particularly cement to Astrakhan.

Zhilkin said the Turkmen authorities intend to open a consulate office in Astrakhan. Its activity will cover Kalmykia, Krasnodar, Stavropol, Rostov and the Volgograd regions.

Turkmenistan has recently established a relationship with the Guzhvin shipbuilding and ship repair plant which repairs dry cargo ships from Turkmenistan.

Experts says that a direct rail ferry service between the Russian port of Olya and Makhachkala with the port of Turkmenbashi, could ensure an increase in cargo flow from Turkmenistan to Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Berdimuhamedov has repeatedly said that he stands for increasing the volume of rail and sea transportation in the region, including new routes.

It was previously reported that the Turkmen State Service of Maritime and River Transport has signed a contract for the construction and purchase of two car passenger ferries Ro-Pax with Croatian ULJANIK Brodogradiliste company.

The Turkmen merchant fleet has nine vessels, of which four dry cargo ships with a total capacity of over 13,000 tons and five tankers with a total capacity of 23,600 tons.

Turkmenistan is preparing for a radical modernisation of the Turkmenbashi international sea port on the Caspian Sea, designed to become a major hub of the global transit transport infrastructure passing through Turkmenistan.