Turkmen construction dominated by Turks

ASHGABAD - Anatolia News Agency

Turkmen construction workers work on a Turkish construction site in Turkmenistan. Last year Turkish construction firms recorded $3.2 billion in revenues in Turkmenistan for completing 63 different projects. Hürriyet photo

Turkish construction firms have hit the proverbial jackpot in Turkmenistan, taking on $3 billion in projects in the country since January 2012.

Turkish construction firms have signed up for projects to build sports arenas, ports, schools, hospitals, roads, infrastructure, bridges, railways, drilling platforms, pipelines, textile factories, hotels and entertainment facilities.

Most recently, Turkey’s Polimeks construction firm won the bid to build Turkmenistan’s $147 million Techno Park project and the second phase of the country’s Olympic city for $1.4 billion.

Another Turkish firm, Soyak, has also signed on board to build a train station and residences in the country’s Balkan province.

Norsel, which is active in the textile sector, is getting ready to build a 6,000 ton capacity cotton processing plant in the city of Seydi, as well as revamping an existing cotton plant in the province of Lebap. The total cost of these projects is estimated at $110 million.

Çalık Holding’s GAP construction firm is building emergency rooms in five different provinces in Turkmenistan for $105 million. Efor Construction is also building a cardiology in the capital Ashgabad for $65 million.

Turkish construction firms recorded $3.2 billion in revenues for the completion of 63 different projects in Turkmenistan in 2011, despite the global economic crisis. In 2010, Turkish firms were awarded $4.5 billion in construction projects, and since 1991 Turkish firms have raked in a total of more than $30 billion in projects in Turkmenistan. Currently, Turkish firms are continuing with around 500 different projects in the country worth $32 billion.