VZCZCXRO1126
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0413/01 0931222
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021222Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0539
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 3580
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 1398
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 1265
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 1834
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 2379
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000413 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON EAGR TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN:  LEBAP PROVINCE DEVELOPING, BUT 
LOCAL OFFICIALS STRUGGLE TO FULFILL THE PLAN 
 
 
¶1.  (U)  Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  Government officials in Lebap Province, 
bordering Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, are sagging under an 
array of tasks they have been given to facilitate rural and 
economic development.  Hampered by limited implementation 
guidance from Ashgabat, they are struggling to manage a 
myriad of construction projects, find additional contractors 
to do the work, and reopen former provincial facilities 
closed during former President Niyazov's years.  At the same 
time, they are struggling to learn how to assist 
entrepreneurs, who want to apply for newly-available farm and 
business credit programs.  They were aware of no initiatives 
on the horizon that would allow provincial governments to 
operate with increased autonomy.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) PolOff met with several deputy governors in the 
Lebap Provincial government to learn more about recent 
events, and how the president's Rural Development Program is 
progressing in this quiet, eastern region.  Officials there 
pointed to the obvious signs that the president's rural 
development program is being realized in Turkmenabat city, 
including ongoing construction of a new maternity hospital, 
kindergarten, sports complex, Rukhiyet Palace (conference 
center), and a textile plant.  They also mentioned 
construction that has begun on a highway that is to connect 
the Farap border crossing with Uzbekistan and the Caspian 
port of Turkmenbashi on the opposite side of the country. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Some rural development funds are also going toward 
construction in a village called Batash, which was named a 
new administrative district.  Despite the fact that the 
village is little more than signage on the roadway, some 320 
kilometers south of Turkmenabat, construction has begun on a 
new district government office building, school, and roads 
construction, the provincial officials noted.  The officials 
said all ongoing construction projects are good for local 
employment, because construction companies use their own 
managers, but hire the rest of the labor locally. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The provincial officials were more forthcoming in 
what they were willing to share than in PolOff's last session 
with them in October 2007.  When asked about challenges they 
are dealing with, they indicated that the biggest problem 
they have right now is identifying construction companies -- 
foreign or domestic -- that are both able and willing to bid 
for the continuing flow of construction contracts with which 
the provincial government is grappling.  They said the Rural 
Development Program projects come with a strict timeline for 
completion.  However, the foreign companies that are engaged 
in construction in Turkmenistan have all the work they can 
cope with and do not want to bid on additional projects. 
Likewise, Turkmen companies are also too busy to take on 
more, which leaves provincial officials in a bind.   They may 
not be able to meet the central government's deadlines. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) They also volunteered that they are spending a 
great deal of time and money getting a national business 
development initiative off the ground.  After the president's 
decree last year guaranteeing speedy payment to farmers for 
their cotton, the farmers became very interested in later 
decrees that enabled entrepreneurs to apply for credit to 
expand their enterprises or engage in construction.  The 
provincial government was totally unprepared for the 
resulting flood of inquiries and requests for assistance from 
those interested in the program. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Central Bank, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry 
of Finance have started to provide implementation information 
to the provincial government, and provincial officials 
recently organized a seminar to teach some 200 entrepreneurs 
 
ASHGABAT 00000413  002 OF 002 
 
 
how to apply for the business development credit.  Provincial 
officials are now getting ready to provide training on how to 
develop a business plan, which is an integral part of the 
credit application process.  Further, each of these training 
events also includes opportunities to network with local 
government, banking, and justice officials who play a role in 
the process. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The officials said district libraries that had been 
closed during Niyazov's last year in office will soon be 
re-opened, and they are planning to purchase some new books 
for the shelves.  Small district museums, likewise, are to be 
re-opened in the near future, they said.  When PolOff asked 
the officials if there were any initiatives underway, 
directed by Ashgabat, to give the province more autonomy in 
its daily operations, they indicated no awareness of any 
programs along those lines.  They had heard, however, that 
farmers' unions were being given more breathing room to make 
decisions on local farming and quality-of-life issues for 
residents, but they knew few details. 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  Rural development is clearly underway in 
Lebap Province.  Signs of construction are everywhere, and 
provincial officials are clearly on the hook to make the 
president's decree a reality.  However, combined with other 
decrees and initiatives that seek to promote economic 
development in this quiet province, officials appear stressed 
by the fact that they do not have the tools, expertise, 
contacts, or personnel they need to ensure that these 
initiatives are fully implemented.  It remains to be seen how 
they will address their needs to Ashgabat, and if Ashgabat 
will listen.  END COMMENT. 
HOAGLAND