Azernews.Az

Turkmenistan recorded a high traffic in automobile, railway and air transport in the first half of 2013.

The Turkmen government reported that the dynamics of growth in cargo and passenger transportation are as follows compared to the same six months of 2012: the ministry of railway transport - 125.1 and 102.9 percent, the ministry of automobile transport - 103 and 101.8 percent, state sea and river transport service- 101.5 and 132.5 percent and Turkmen Airlines - 112.1 percent.

Turkmenistan borders Kazakhstan, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan on land, while offshore it shares borders with Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Iran. Regional transportation projects have been recently intensified. In particular, large scale reconstruction at the Turkmenbashi sea port is underway. Highways are being modernized.

A project on linking railways on the Turkmen-Kazakh border was launched in May 2013. In general, the two neighboring countries and Iran are implementing the "North -South" project. The trilateral intergovernmental agreement was signed in 2007. The railway networks of Iran and Turkmenistan are expected to be linked by late 2013.

This regional project will provide European and Asian countries with a way to Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. A similar opportunity will appear for cargo transit from South and South-Eastern Asian countries, the shores of the Indian Ocean to the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe - through Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. Moreover, the construction of another transport highway - the "Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan" was recently launched. The Peoples Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan and Iran can also join it.