Turkmenistan says power plant expansion will help it penetrate new markets

/ Energy & Power / Tuesday, 11 September 2018 12:28

The gas-rich country of Turkmenistan has announced the expansion of a Soviet-era power plant that it believes will help the country penetrate new markets in South Asia.

The country is aggressively pursuing an innovate strategy in relation to its energy exports and hopes it will become a central hub for electricity exports to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

At the official opening ceremony of the upgrade of the facility which is powered by gas and steam at the republic’s southern Mary region, Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov declared that the new capabilities at the power plant will enable the country to boost its exports in South Asia.

It has been disclosed in local media reports that the $1.2bn expansion program will allow Turkmenistan to export an additional three billion kilowatt-hours per-year to its bordering countries.

A representative from the country’s energy ministry, who requested to remain anonymous, disclosed the cost of the project which is being implemented in a joint-capacity by Turkish firm Calik Holding and General Electric.

AFP has reported that Central Asia states are now attempting to position themselves to supply electricity to the potentially lucrative emerging markets in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

One project called CASA 1000, which is financially-supported in part by the United States, would see electricity produced at hydropower plants in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan sent to the two countries.

For Turkmenistan, which sits on the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas, electricity exports as well as trade and transit have assumed added importance as it struggles to find markets for its main export.

Planned gas pipelines to Europe and India have been slow to materialize despite years of negotiations that have been plagued by political and economic doubts, while major buyer Russia ceased importing Turkmen gas in 2016. 

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