Today, as part of a working trip to Ashgabat, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited the construction site of the high-speed Ashgabat-Turkmenabat highway, the design and construction of which was entrusted to the Closed Joint Stock Company “Turkmen Awtoban”, which is a member of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan.
The commissioning of this largest highway with a length of about 600 kilometers will significantly increase the throughput of the country's road system, the quality and efficiency of logistics services, expand the international transport and transit infrastructure and trade and economic relations with neighboring states located along the Great Silk Road.
In accordance with the project, the highway is designed to speed up and increase the volume of cargo transportation through the territory of Turkmenistan. As a result of joining the Ashgabat-Turkmenbashi highway, the autobahn connecting the eastern region of the country with its center will provide freight trucks with direct access to the International Seaport in Turkmenbashi, and further - by sea to the Caucasus, towards Europe, to the south of Russia, to the north of Iran, to the Persian and Oman gulfs.
By order of the Closed Joint Stock Company “Turkmen Awtoban”, which also acts as the general contractor of the project, the construction of an ultra-modern highway with the improvement of the adjacent territory is carried out by individual enterprises “Nusayyollary” and “Hyzmat merkezi”, business companies “Edermen” and “Altyn nesil”.
According to the Resolution of the Head of Turkmenistan, the project is planned to be implemented in three stages. The first section of the autobahn, Ashgabat-Tejen, is scheduled to be commissioned this year, the second, Tejen-Mary, in December 2022, and the third, the Mary-Turkmenabat section, in December 2023.
The highway will have three main lanes and one additional lane on each side. The width of the roadbed will be 34.5 meters. The autobahn will start from an intersection, which will be built on the 24th kilometer of the Ashgabat-Dashoguz highway. Payment centers will also be located here, providing, among other things, electronic payment, a traffic control point, and recreation areas.
For proper maintenance of the high-speed route, it is also planned to build corresponding stations. Traffic will be controlled by an automatic system, which, using continuous video surveillance, collects, stores and transmits all traffic data and information to the traffic supervision service. Reports from the weather station will also be sent here, including parameters such as humidity, visibility distance, etc.
Chairman of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs D. Hudayberdiev presented to President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov the works planned within the framework of the I, II and III stages of the construction of the high-speed highway Ashgabat-Turkmenabat.
The leader of the nation was also familiarized with the drawings and diagrams illustrating the main directions of the road, sketches of a large payment terminal and small payment points. In addition, views of a gas station, retail outlets, vehicle service areas, recreation areas, intersections, bridges and other objects were demonstrated.
After listening to the report, the head of Turkmenistan made some changes to the project and instructed to pay special attention to the high quality of work performed and environmental requirements.
Drivers who will use the services of this road, which meets international standards, when transferring payments through payment terminals, must pay by cards and chips, and drivers arriving or transiting from foreign countries must pay in foreign currency, the leader of the nation instructed.
Among the key tasks outlined by the head of state for the foreseeable future is the consistent integration into the world transport system and further expansion of infrastructure along the main highways, connecting routes and nodes in the East-West and North-South directions.
As the President of the country emphasizes, the formation of the most important transport corridors in these directions is of great importance in the context of realizing the goals of reviving the Great Silk Road and connecting the economic poles of Eurasia. This also implies the possibility of connecting to the international transport system in the southern and eastern directions with access to China, India, Pakistan, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.
The foreign policy strategy of the leader of the nation is based on the vision of the region of Central Asia and the Caspian basin as a strong link in strategic stability in the Eurasian space, and Turkmenistan as a reliable partner for all interested countries and, at the same time, as a transport and transit hub of continental importance. And the Ashgabat-Turkmenabat autobahn is to become an important component of this multimodal logistics system.During the trip, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov heard reports from the leaders on the works.
Then the head of state gave instructions regarding the formation of their own transport fleet by entrepreneurs. As noted, the buses purchased should be equipped with everything for the comfort of passengers. Along the autobahn there will be special telephone points connected to the Control Center for urgent calls and assistance.
The President of Turkmenistan stressed that it is important to apply advanced experience and innovative technologies in this area when implementing this project. The main requirement is to strictly ensure that the quality of work carried out on the Ashgabat-Turkmenabat highway meets international standards, the leader of the nation said.
As the head of state stressed, in connection with the construction of an autobahn of such a high level, interaction with relevant international structures and programs should be intensified.
This applies, first of all, to the International Road Transport Union, which unites the interests of national automotive organizations, the International Program of Cooperation of Partner Countries with the European Union on the construction of the Eurasia-Caucasus-Asia transport corridor (TRASEKA), as well as logistics organizations involved in cargo transportation throughout the world. All this, in general, is of particular importance in connection with the provision of a transnational transport corridor.
The head of state instructed the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Secretary of the State Security Council Ch. Amanov to envisage measures to ensure smooth and safe road traffic, appropriate control by the Road Supervision Service.
Then the President of Turkmenistan, continuing his way along the highway under construction, inspected the quality of the barriers built along the road. Emphasizing that all the work deployed in the country is aimed at ensuring a high standard of living for the people, the leader of the nation emphasized that this is succinctly reflected in the main motto “The state is for people!”, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reports.
