PLAIN SAILING IN
TURKMENISTAN
Transport drives international trade — but the latest vessels and equipment must be matched with a well-trained workforce. In 2022, the OPEC Fund provided US$173 million to the transport sector in partner countries worldwide.
The Marine Merchant Fleet Project co-financed by the OPEC Fund will equip the maritime fleet of Turkmenistan with modern vessels, boost the volume of passenger and freight traffic, and enhance the capacity and efficiency of the national maritime fleet. The capacity building component of the project is critical for the development and sustainability of maritime transport in Turkmenistan.
Located at a strategic position where trade routes from Europe to Asia cross the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan has great potential in transit and the opportunity to become a major player in transport and logistics services.
The government of the country, which holds the world’s fourth-largest gas reserves, has recognized this chance and is currently implementing a large-scale modernization and improvement program. New roads, railways and pipelines are now under construction and are part of regional and international transit corridors such as the Transport Corridor Europe Caucasus Asia (TRACECA) trade route. Maritime transportation is of critical importance for the movement of international freight across the Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water in the world, linking Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan. However, most of the state-owned fleet is made up of old and obsolete vessels — rendering freight transport through Turkmenistan risky, inefficient and expensive. The government is addressing the issue with an ambitious investment program to modernize the Turkmenbashi International Sea Port — a key hub in the TRACECA. The main maritime route is the ferry service between Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan and Turkmenbashi, a city of some 70,000 inhabitants on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea and the terminus of the Trans-Caspian Railway.
ANNADURDY KOSAYEV Chairman of the Maritime and River Lines Agency of Turkmenistan
Since time immemorial seafaring has been an engine of trade.
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