On May 27, representatives of the Turkmen consulate in Kazan, headed by consul Atadurdy Bayramov , met with the general director of Ak Bars Shipbuilding Corporation JSC Renat Mistakhov , according to the website of the Tatarstan company.

The parties discussed further cooperation in the field of ship repair and shipbuilding, including the training of Turkmen specialists from the Balkan shipbuilding plant located in the international seaport of Turkmenbashi.

As a result, it was decided to organize mutual visits of specialists from both sides to study the shipbuilding capacities of Turkmenistan and Tatarstan for the construction of two Ro-Ro ferry ships and a sea container ship in Turkmenbashi.

It is noted that the meeting was held on behalf of the chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty Milli Gengesh (upper house of parliament) of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov , who visited Kazan two weeks ago and held talks on cooperation with the head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov.

Earlier, Ak Bars built two high-speed motor ships of project A145E for Turkmenistan - Rovach and Rakhat.

Plans to build passenger and cargo civilian ships in Turkmenistan with the support of specialists from Ak Bars were announced back in October 2020.

As it became known earlier, financing in the amount of $45 million for the construction of two ferries and one dry cargo ship at the Balkan shipyard in Turkmenbashi will be allocated by the OPEC Fund. Turkmenistan asked the Islamic Development Bank for another $135.25 million .

The new seaport, as well as the Balkan shipyard in the city of Turkmenbashi, were put into operation in May 2018. Their construction cost $1.5 billion. At that time, it was reported that the plant's capacity would be enough to build 4-6 ships per year. At the moment, Balkan has not produced a single vessel.

Source: Chronicles of Turkmenistan