Turkish company to build major new port in Turkmenistan

TURKMENBASHI

The groundbreaking ceremony of the port was held August 15. AA photo

The groundbreaking ceremony of Turkmenistan’s largest port project, “Turkmenbashi International Ports,” was held Aug. 15 with the participation of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, ministers and MPs from the two countries.

Turkish construction company GAP, owned by the Çalık Group, will build a port in the city of Turkmenbashi on Turkmenistan’s Caspian Sea coast over four years. The planned port is expected to create 4,000 new jobs when completed. Turkmenistan had launched the $2 billion project to boost exports of mainly oil products, liquefied gas and textiles.

The project includes the construction of many facilities from port terminals – including one for passenger ships and one for containers – to a ship-building yard.

“We can solve problems on the Caspian hand-in-hand, and Turkey is ready to show all cooperation,” Erdoğan said during the ceremony.

He said the continuing railway project between the eastern Turkish city of Kars, the Georgian capital Tbilisi and the Azeri capital of Baku was of great importance for the region. “The railway project will be complementary to the Turkmenbashi International Ports project, all making Turkey and Turkmenistan strategically important transit countries,” he added.

Berdimuhamedov said the new port would lead to a new level in trade relations between Asia and Europe, making it easier for Europe to access Asian markets.

Turkish construction firms undertook the largest number of projects in Turkmenistan during the first seven months of the year, with a total of 33 projects.

From January to July, Turkey and Turkmenistan signed deals for projects worth $5.6 billion. Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Iraq followed in terms of the value of new deals.