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By Trend

A ferry service, which will connect Russia’s Makhachkala city with the Turkmen port of Turkmenbashi, will be launched in the Caspian Sea in 2019, Trend reports referring to the Russian media.

"This is a regional-scale project," Alexander Elizarov, Russian trade representative in Turkmenistan, told reporters.

"First of all, one or two ferries are planned to be used," he said. "In the future, after the effective cargo traffic is confirmed, it is possible to talk about building at least three-four more vessels," he said.

Makhachkala will become a transit point. A transport corridor to the Black Sea will be built from Makhachkala. According to the plans, up to eight million tons of cargo will be transported through the Makhachkala – Turkmenbashi corridor per year in the medium term.

Makhachkala Commercial Sea Port has a complex designed for three million tons of cargo annually. It has berths for general cargo, bulk cargo and containers with a capacity of up to 1.2 million tons per year.

The solemn ceremony of opening this port took place on May 2, 2018. The project was developed in accordance with the international "Greenport" standard.

The annual capacity of the port will be 17-18 million tons.

The international ferry and passenger port will be able to serve 300,000 passengers and 75,000 trailers a year. The container terminal has an average annual capacity of 400,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units). The cost of the project implemented by Gap Insaat Company (Turkey) is more than $1.5 billion.

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