Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan Railway to Open Next Month
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan railroad will become operational on December 3, Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi announced.
The railroad will officially open in a ceremony to be attended by presidents of Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, Akhoundi said in a press conference.
It would play a major role in promoting Iran’s trade ties with the rest of the world, neighboring countries in particular, he underlined.
In the early years, Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan railroad will transport between three and five million tons of cargo annually and the transit volume is expected to increase to 10 million tons per year in the long term, Akhondi said.
Currently, the route between China and the West is the main part of transit network in the region which transits 350 million tons cargo per year, he noted.
If proper facilities are provided for the passage of goods, Iran would play an effective role in the transit corridor, the Iranian minister emphasized.
Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan railway is part of the 677 km-long North-South Transnational which connects the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan with Iran and the Persian Gulf.