New Caspian port

Ground breaking has started in the western town of Turkmenbashi where the new port will be built by Turkish construction firm Gap Insaat.

An 800km pipeline is already being built from the country’s giant Galkynysh gas field, the world’s second-largest natural gas deposit, to Turkmenbashi to lessen dependence on exports to Russia. Turkmenistan, which neighbours Iran and Afghanistan, holds the world’s fourth largest natural gas reserves and possesses vast reserves of oil in the Caspian, estimated at 12bn tonnes. It is also a major producer of cotton.

The new port in Turkmenbashi will be used to export oil products, liquefied gas and textiles. Imports already reach Turkmenistan via Russia’s Volga-Don Canal but the new port will make it quicker for European countries to export to markets in the Middle East and would boost capital investment in the region.