Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

A new international sea port which will be constructed in Turkmenistan's Turkmenbashi city on the Caspian Sea will become an important link to form state-of-the-art transport infrastructure and bring economic and trade cooperation between Asia and Europe up to a new level, a message published on the official website of Europe-Caucasus-Asia Transport Corridor (TRACECA) said on August 21.

According to the message, the port will also give a strong impetus to the long-term development of inter-regional relations and open up broad possibilities to increase transport flows in the Eurasian area.

The project of the new international sea port envisages the construction of ferry, passenger and container terminals. The complex will include a general loading terminal, a terminal for bulk cargo, as well as shipbuilding and ship repairing plants.

The total area of a multifunctional port is more than 1.2 million square meters.

The project will be implemented by Turkish company Gap Inşaat, which won the international tender on construction of a modern sea port with the estimated value of $2 billion.

According to Turkmen media outlets, this project will join Central Asia, Caspian Sea countries with South Caucasus and Black Sea region with further exit to Turkey and European countries.

Speaking at the foundation ceremony of the Turkmenbashi sea port, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said that it will raise perspectives of expansion of transport infrastructure in southern and eastern directions with the exit to such large economic centers, as China, India, Pakistan and the Asian-Pacific region.

"New international sea port in Turkmenbashi will also influence the geopolitics, will be one of the main constituents of international cooperation in the transport sphere and have positive impact on general situation in the region and beyond it," the Turkmen president said.

TRACECA is the international program of cooperation in transport between the EU and its partner-countries in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia. The organization has a permanent secretariat in Baku.

TRACECA member-countries are Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Moldova, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Iran.