ASHGABAT (Trend) – Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has order the achievement of the North-South Railway section before the end of 2012, Trend news agency reports.

Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran signed an intergovernmental deal on construction of the railway in 2007. An intergovernmental deal on an international railway checkpoint of the Kazakh-Turkmen border was signed in May 2012.

The project will give Europe and Asia access to Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. Cargo will be delivered from Southern and South-Eastern Asia, from the Indian Ocean to the Northern and Eastern Europe through Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.

Up to 3-5 million tons of cargo will be transported annually at the launch of the railway project, 10-12 million tons in the future.

Berdimuhamedov approved nullification of the contract signed with Pars Energy – an Iranian construction company – in early September. A contract was signed with the company in January 2010 to build the Bereket-Etrek Railway. It was to be completed December 2011.