Azernews.Az

Currently the Caspian Sea region is acquiring increasing importance for Turkmenistan.

The existence of significant volume of natural resources - fuel, energy, fish, agro-climatic, recreational resources and favorable transport and geographical location can be a basis for increasing the production and expanding the trade and economic cooperation with foreign countries, the Turkmen government noted in its statement.

The shortest ways linking the Central Asia states with European countries, India and Pakistan, as well as with the countries of the Indian Ocean basin run through the Caspian Sea.

At this stage, objective prerequisites are being created for turning the Caspian Sea and its coastal areas into an important transit center of trade through which Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and other countries that have limited access to ocean communications will trade with Europe.

"Taking all this into consideration, within the strategic and medium-term programs Turkmenistan, plans to intensify the implementation of measures to develop a national maritime transport potential in accordance with criteria of reliability, competitiveness and quality of maintenance of cargo flows," the message of Turkmen government said.

The current Turkmenbashi port processes around 7.9 million tons of cargo per year. After the completion of construction of essentially new maritime infrastructure of the port, the cargo turnover will double in 2017, and its capacity will exceed 20 million tons per year. The project, worth $2 billion is being implemented by Turkish Gap Insaat.