The Turkmenistan government said in September that Pars Energy would fail to complete the project by December 2012 "despite the Turkmen side being on time and fulfilling its partnership commitments," and following consultations with Tehran, it decided to terminate the contract with the company which it had awarded in January 2010.
The resolutions signed by Berdimuhamedov include completion of construction of the Bereket – Etrek section of the line and a locomotive depot at Bereket station.
The project is part of a larger scheme to build a line that will link Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, and according to the Economic Cooperation Organisation, an intergovernmental organisation representing 10 countries in the region, the Turkmen section is more than 50% complete. Preliminary forecasts state that up to five million tonnes of freight per year will be transported on the line when it opens and it is hoped that this will eventually increase to 10-12 million tonnes.
