Turkmen ambassador to Kazakhstan, Maktymguly Akmuradov, said the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway is expected to open before the end of this year, Azerbaijan’s Trend news agency reported. During a press conference on Thursday, the envoy said the opening will likely take place between Turkmenistan’s Independence Day (Oct 27) and Kazakhstan’s Independence Day (Dec 16). He added that the three countries’ leaders will attend the opening ceremony for the much-awaited railway. Experts say traffic on the new route is estimated to reach 15 million metric tons by 2020. President Hassan Rouhani, in September underlined the need for Iran to become a big corridor for transiting goods. The president also called for cooperation among all organizations and government bodies involved in customs and foreign trade, and said customs laws should be adjusted to international conventions.
