Ymamnazar | |
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Location in Turkmenistan | |
Coordinates: 37°14′56″N 65°15′47″E / 37.24889°N 65.26306°E | |
Country | Turkmenistan |
Province | Lebap Province |
District | Atamyrat District |
Time zone | TMT (UTC+5) |
Ymamnazar (also Ymam Nazar, Imamnazar) is a remote settlement in Turkmenistan's Lebap province. It is situated immediately adjacent to Turkmenistan's southern border with Afghanistan, opposite to Aqina. The nearest town in Turkmenistan is Atamyrat, in Afghanistan Andkhoy.
In 2007, an international border crossing point was opened in Ymamnazar, making it one of two international border crossings on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan border, the other being Serhetabat-Toraghundi. The border crossing is officially called "Saparmurat", after Saparmurat "Turkmenbashi" Niyazov, the first president of Turkmenistan.
There are basic transshipment facilities here, including an small oil terminal for shipping Turkmen oil and gas products onward into Afghanistan.
In 2015, Ymamnazar became the southern terminus of a railway line from Atamyrat. In 2016 the line was extended across the border into Afghanistan to Aqina and opened for traffic in November 2016. It is one of only three railways in Afghanistan. The line is eventually planned to form part of railway corridor through northern Afghanistan, linking Turkmenistan bis Sheberghan, Mazar-i-Sharif and Sher Khan Bandar with Tajikistan.