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The Agency for Maritime and River Transport of Turkmenistan is expanding international partnerships in priority areas of sectoral development. As part of the transport forum ITTC-2023, held in Ashgabat on May 3-4, the enterprises included in the agency signed new agreements with foreign companies.

Thus, the international seaport of Turkmenbashi signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Turkish company Albayrak Group and a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Indian company Anipra Impex Ltd. And the shipbuilding and ship repair plant "Balkan" signed an Agreement with Bureau Veritas Marine Kazakhstan LLC on the provision of services.

The Agency of Maritime and River Transport of Turkmenistan and the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping adopted an addendum to the Agreement on Licensing Services for the Technical Inspection of Vessels and Documentation in accordance with the requirements of international agreements.

In addition, on the margins of ITTC-2023, the Turkmenbashi seaport was solemnly awarded a certificate for compliance with the requirements of international standards for quality, environmental safety, health protection and industrial safety - these are ISO 9001,14001 and 45001 standards. The certificate was issued by the international certification body CERT International.

Successful certification according to international standards of the Turkmen seaport, which serves as an important logistics link in the region, will give it an additional advantage when interacting with foreign partners and investors, strengthen its competitive qualities against the backdrop of increasing volumes of cargo flows to the Caspian region.

And the trade turnover is only intensifying every day due to the fact that the port of Turkmenbashi is located at the intersection of the East-West and North-South transport corridors and provides ample opportunities for transit cargo transportation from Europe to the countries of Central Asia, China and the countries of the Persian Gulf, including India.

As Annadurdy Kosaev, chairman of the Maritime and River Transport Agency, stressed at the ITTC-2023 forum in Ashgabat, the port of Turkmenbashi is of great geopolitical importance in Eurasia. Located on the Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) trade route, being in a natural bay protected from storms, it is able to receive ships throughout the year and carry out loading and unloading operations around the clock. On the territory of its container terminal with a capacity of 400,000 containers per year, free storage of containers for up to 60 days is provided, and a service for storing goods in the “customs warehouse” mode has been introduced. According to this customs procedure, goods imported into the territory of Turkmenistan can be stored under customs control for up to three years without payment of customs duties and taxes, as well as without the application of various prohibitions and restrictions of an economic nature.

Since January 1, 2023, feeder communication has been launched by its vessels for the transportation of containers between the ports of Turkmenbashi and Baku, at a special rate of $250 for a forty-foot container.

As the chairman of the agency noted, the international seaport of Turkmenbashi gave impetus to the development of public-private partnerships - numerous private transport and logistics companies were formed in the country. In particular, more than 35 local companies and a number of foreign companies cooperate with the port.

At the moment, negotiations are underway with Singapore, as well as Abu Dhabi, AD Ports Group, to improve the activities of the seaport of Turkmenbashi.

The possibility of transferring the container terminal of the port to trust management is being studied and negotiations are underway with the relevant parties.

A shipbuilding and ship repair plant "Balkan" was built on the territory of the port of Turkmenbashi, the capacity of which allows building 4 ships a year, repairing more than 20 ships and processing 12,000 tons of steel.

Currently, active work is underway on the construction project of two Ro-Ro ferries and one dry cargo ship with the financial support of the IDB and the OPEC Fund for International Development. Also, relevant work is being carried out with various shipbuilding companies on the joint construction of two dry cargo/container carriers at the Balkan shipyard.

The implementation of these and many other projects is aimed at turning the seaport of Turkmenbashi into one of the most powerful ports in the region, creating a large logistics center that will close the continental cargo flows.

ORIENT news

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