Construction of Kazakh-Turkmen-Iran Railway to Begin on 30 November

Text of report by Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency

Astana, 29 November: Astana, Asgabat and Tehran intend to begin the construction of a new railway from Kazakhstan to Iran through Turkmen territory on Friday [30 November], Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov has said.

“A [Kazakh] government delegation led by Minister of Energy [and Mineral Resources] Sauat Mynbayev has left for Turkmenistan, where tomorrow the first stone will be laid in the construction of a new railway from Kazakhstan to Iran through Turkmenistan,” Karim Masimov told the second Kazakh grain forum.

“We will complete this project within the next two to three years, and Kazakhstan will have a new opportunity to reach the Persian Gulf shores by railway,” the prime minister said.

He also ordered the government to speed up the detailed examination of the issue of Kazakhstan’s participation in the construction of a railway from Azerbaijan to Turkey (Baku-Tbilisi- Karsk).

“It is necessary to study in greater detail the railway route through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey,” Karim Masimov said.

Originally published by Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency, Almaty, in Russian 0550 29 Nov 07.

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