ATYRAU. September 30. KAZINFORM /Andrey Sokolov/ President Nursultan Nazarbayev who is on a working visit to Atyrau oblast has participated in launch of construction of Uzen - state border of Kazakhstan with Turkmenistan railway through a video conference. This is an interstate project realization of which is of paramount importance for Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran. Head of the State personally promoted this project. Uzen-Gorgan railroad will allow Kazakhstan raising its transit and export potential. The new railway route will run from the Kazakh station Uzen to Turkmen stations Gyzylgaya, Bereket, Etrek and Gorgan where it will join the network of Iranian railroads. The new route will significantly reduce the way from the centre of Eurasia to the southern seas by more than 600 km. The total length of the road will make 650 km. The cost of the project is USD 620 mln. In the first years of exploitation the annual volume of the transported goods is to make 3-5 mln tons. In prospect, this figure can be raised up to10-17 mln tons per year. The project is also attractive for Transcaucasia. Armenian railroad experts say the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railroad will promote simplification of economic feasibility of Iran-Armenia-Georgia-Ukraine railroad project and can become a continuation of Uzen-Gorgan road. The route will activate goods turnover not only among Iran, Turkmenistan and Georgia but also the trade with CA countries and China. As for Kazakhstan, our country will receive the shortest access to the Middle East - the most important region in the system of international goods turnover. Oil and oil products, metals and wheat are expected to be transported by this route. Therefore, as the Head of the State stressed, realization of this project is of strategic importance for us. The new transport corridor will become vitally important for the region and will promote constructive interaction on the conditions of real economic benefit and equal partnership.