Islamic bank provides funds for int RR Turkmen part construction.

ASHGABAT, December 26 (Itar-Tass) -- Islamic Development Bank provides
over 371 million dollars for the construction of the Turkmen section of
the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran "North-South" railroad.
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on Friday signed a
resolution allowing Railway Minister Rozmurat Seitgulyiev to sign a loan
agreement with Islamic Development Bank to finance the construction of the
Bereket-Etrek section of the Gyzylgaya-Bereket-Etrek railroad.
IDB supported the loan decision at the executive director council
meeting that took place in Jeddah on December 22-23 this year. The package
of loan agreements of Turkmenistan supported by IDB this year amounts to
950 million dollars.
The Bereket-Etrek line will be 256.5 kilometres long. Eight stations
will be built there. The railroad will be laid near rich oil and gas
deposits.
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran signed the three-party agreement on
construction of the transnational Uzen-Gyzylgaya-Bereket-Etrek-Gorgan main
line in October 2007 in Tehran. The total length of the North-South
corridor will be about 700 kilometres -- 140 in Kazakhstan, 470 in
Turkmenistan and 90 kilometres in Iran. The international railroad is
planned to start operating together with all the service facilities in
December 2011.
-0-pan/ast