Chinese Companies To Invest In Turkmenistan’s Growth Development Transit Cargo Industry
In further examples of how Chinese companies are now using the Belt and Road Initiative to develop cash-flow generating businesses, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and China Machinery Engineering Corporation are negotiating transit cargo transportation agreements through Turkmenistan.
Discussions have been held between Mammetkhan Chakiev, Turkemistan’s Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications, and the two Chinese corporations. The contracts would be for developing Turkmen transport channels, delivering railway equipment and machinery, and exchanging shipbuilding technologies.
Representatives of the China Transport and Communications Association were also interested in establishing regular container transportation from China to Europe and Turkey using Turkmenistan’s railways.
Advantageous location near large potential markets, as well as access to railway and multimodal transportation links to support global trade, may create a future opportunity to increase cross-border traffic in Turkmenistan.
It is a growth market. In 2021, Turkemistan’s transit cargo volumes increased by 3.5 times, while use of the China-Europe routes through the country rose 101% last year.
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are collaborating to further develop this along the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey-Europe route, which exits Central Asia through the Turkmenbashi International Seaport to Baku in Azerbaijan before continuing west.
Turkmenistan is also working to join the agreements the Organization for Cooperation of Railways’ agreement on the International Transit Tariff and the Common Transit Tariff.
By joining these agreements, the Turkmen Railways Agency will be able to develop a convenient platform for agreeing on common tariffs, simplify transit along the China-Europe routes, improve the country’s transport and logistics system, and expand the geography of rail transit traffic.
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Chris Devonshire-Ellis is the Chairman of Dezan Shira & Associates. The firm assists British and Foreign Investment into Asia and has 28 offices throughout China, India, the ASEAN nations and Russia. For strategic and business intelligence concerning China’s Belt & Road Initiative please email silkroad@dezshira.com or visit us at www.dezshira.com
