Turkmenistan building power plant on Caspian coast, plans to export electricity to Turkey

ASHGABAT. Oct 27 (Interfax) - The new large power plant that Turkmenistan is set to build in the western part of the country, on the Caspian Sea coast, will enable it to export electricity to Turkey, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov said at a meeting with Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan.

The ground breaking ceremony for the new 1,574 MW plant will be held in a few days near the city of Turkmenbashi, Berdimuhamedov said. The plant will make it possible to export electricity to Turkey through third countries, he said.

"We intend to implement this project with our Turkish brothers," Berdimuhamedov added.

He said development of energy partnership, the necessary contractual legal framework for which already exists, benefits both countries.

Berdimuhamedov in March approved a proposal to build a second 1,574 MW combined cycle power plant in the Balkan region. At the same time, the Energy Ministry announced a tender for the construction of the plant. The deadline for bids was initially May 10, but the ministry later extended it to July 4. The results of the tender have not been reported.

Turkmenistan's first 1,574 MW combined cycle power plant was launched in the eastern Mary region in September 2018.

Turkmenistan now has 12 power plants with combined capacity of 6,943.2 MW, government data showed. The country exports electricity to neighboring Iran, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, as well as to Kyrgyzstan.