China to build communication systems for Turkmen railways

Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, June 19 / Trend, H.Hasanov / The Turkmen Railway Transport Ministry will conclude a contract with Jiangsu Guotai Litian Enterprises Co., Ltd. (China) to build high quality communication systems for the Ashgabat- Bereket-Turkmenbashi railway, corresponding to modern requirements, a Turkmen official source said today. The corresponding decree was signed by Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. According to the document, it is planned to begin construction operations in June 2012 and fully commission the systems in November 2013. The deal will serve the targets of successfully implementing the objectives indicated in the master plan of developing the Turkmen railway for 2012-2016. The Turkmen leader stressed at the government meeting that the modernisation of the material, technical base of all sectors of the national economy is a key aspect of state policy and ordered strict control over the implementation of the provisions of this document, national TV channel Altin Asir said today. The plan envisages construction of Atamyrat-Imamnazar and Gazachak-Shasenem-Dashoguz railways, the Turkmenabat-Farab railway bridge over the Amu Darya, highway for high-speed trains, running between Turkmenbashi city of Balkan Province and Turmenabat city of Lebap Province, as well a number of other large infrastructure projects. Dozens of railway stations, locomotive sheds, engineering facilities, as well as social objects will be constructed at the highway of transnational North-South railway - from Bereket city to the Kazakh border. Besides Bereket, railway border station Serhetyaka and regional centre Etrek on the Turkmen-Iranian border will become important international transport junctions. Implementation of North-South project will open access to European and Asian countries to Central Asia and the Persian Gulf via the shortest and economically beneficial route. On the other hand, similar opportunity will appear also for cargo transit from South and South-East Asian states, from Indian Ocean coasts to North and East European countries - through Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az