VZCZCXRO0425
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNEH RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #0428/01 0961254
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061254Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2597
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 5037
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 2790
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2655
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 3281
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000428 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
SCA/CEN; EEB 
PLEASE PASS TO USTDA DAN STEIN 
ENERGY FOR EKIMOFF/THOMPSON 
COMMERCE FOR HUEPER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON EINV TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: PORT AT TURKMENBASHY TO GET FULL 
RENOVATION 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  The port at Turkmenbashy will soon 
undergo a complete renovation that will modernize and expand 
its facilities and capacity as the largest Central Asian 
port.  Port authorities say there will be a new ship repair 
yard and new cargo handling facilities.  In the longer term, 
a major cargo handling and processing facility is planned, 
and there is interest in buying more cargo and tanker ships. 
The renovation is probably a good idea, but expansion of the 
port's footprint further inland could adversely impact the 
more historically interesting parts of the old city.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Poloff met on April 1 with the deputy 
representative of the Turkmen Marine and Riverways 
Administration in Turkmenbashy to learn about ongoing 
developments regarding the city's port.  The representative 
said Turkmenbashy was the largest seaport in Central Asia, 
and that demand for its services was growing rapidly.  It has 
two piers, and some 900,000 tons of cargo came through it 
last year.  He claimed that some 70 foreign tankers come 
through the port each month, as well as some 150 dry cargo 
ships. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  The Administration currently operates one oil 
tanker that moves crude from Turkmenbashy to a quay at the 
southern coastal town of Ekerem, from where the oil is then 
taken aboard by private tankers.  The Administration is also 
currently operating one dry cargo ship, which was recently 
refurbished at the shipyard in Astrakhan, but two others will 
be brought online soon.  He mentioned the regular operations 
of the Azerbaijani rail ferry, which takes rail cars, truck 
cargo and passengers between Turkmenbashy and Baku. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The representative said there were plans to 
completely refurbish and modernize the port's facilities and 
to add some new facilities in the next few years.  The 
project is estimated to cost 2.5 billion Euros, he noted. 
Plans include modernization of the piers and heavy cargo 
transport equipment, and addition of a shipyard that will 
initially handle ship repairs.  The tender, he said, had 
already been announced, and decisions would be made in July 
¶2009.  When asked who the main commercial competitors were 
for the contract, he said there were multiple companies that 
were interested, including Turkish and South Korean 
companies, but the Turkmen government is receptive to all 
interested parties. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  He said they had no plans now to purchase any 
ships, since the infrastructure was not yet ready to handle 
an increase in operations.  The first priority would be to 
modernize existing facilities and build a shipyard, then in 
the longer term the Administration was planning to develop a 
logistics center to handle large-scale on- and off-load of 
dry cargo.  Additional tankers and cargo ships would be 
considered after these goals are achieved, he said. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  Although much of the port's facilities 
appear to have been fairly recently refurbished, it appears 
the central government is intent on completely overhauling 
it.  Once completed, it should be able to handle the growing 
amount of largely imported cargo and the variety of petroleum 
products that move through it.  However, the port is tightly 
enclosed by the streets of the old part of the city.  If 
plans include a substantial expansion of the port's 
footprint, it could mean demolition of historical elements of 
the old city, some buildings of which are more than 80 years 
old.  Time will tell how the reconstruction will be carried 
out.  END COMMENT. 
 
ASHGABAT 00000428  002 OF 002 
 
 
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