JULY 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – China has said it is keen to invest $1b building a new terminal at the Manas airport outside Bishkek, media reported. This is important symbolically. The US military was based at Manas for 13 years flying support missions to Afghanistan and Russia has also said it was interested in investing in the airport.
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(News report from Issue No. 192, published on July 9 2014)
JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Media in Uzbekistan reported that a drought in the south of the country means that crop expectations are low.
The uznews.net opposition website said that harvest would be 50% lower than normal on rain-fed crops.
“It did not rain this April and we expect smaller harvests,” uznews.net quoted a farmer as saying.
Officials have not commented although signs of drought are important for policymakers. Droughts and a lack of income can trigger social discontent. Throughout the year, reports have surfaced from Uzbekistan of rising prices.
Uzbekistan is particularly prone to drought. Much of its agriculture is under-resourced and lacking in investment and the land is generally arid. A government report in 2012 said that 76% of the population was living in areas at risk of drought.
And the timing of the uznews.net report is pertinent. The state’s Committee for Natural Protection organised a roundtable on June 29 specifically to discuss desertification and drought in Uzbekistan. The World Bank and the Asian Development all provide various forms of financial assistance aimed at reducing drought in Uzbekistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – South Korea’s Daewoo will invest $22m upgrading and expanding production at two Uzbek textile factories, media reported. South Korea has been looking to expand its business links with Uzbekistan which has also wanted to boost its important textile industry.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JUNE 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Highlighting Turkmenistan’s more international outlook, media reported that it would open an embassy in Georgia soon. Since Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov become president in 2007 Turkmenistan has looked to increase its international status. Georgia is part of a South Caucasus gas pipeline network that Turkmenistan wants to use to export to Europe.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Despite taking a lot of criticism in Kazakhstan for its management of the Caspian Sea Kashagan oil project it appears that Central Asia is still high on the target list for future projects at Italy’s ENI.
ENI CEO Claudio Descalzi visited Ashgabat and spoke with Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov about increasing ENI’s presence in Turkmenistan. Reuters reported that Mr Descalzi had said that he wanted ENI to carry out a feasibility study on how to develop Turkmenistan’s gas sector.
“Concerning the development of future cooperation, the parties discussed options for gas valorization, agreeing that ENI will conduct a feasibility study in this regard,” ENI said in a short statement.
“ENI’s CEO also confirmed the company’s interest in expanding operations in offshore exploration.”
Last month ENI was wooing Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. It signed a deal with Kazakhstan to develop a new site in the Caspian Sea.
This appeared to please ENI’s investors and its share price rose 1.6% on the Italian stock market.
If ENI can secure a foothold in Turkmenistan, which has the world’s fourth largest gas reserves, the Italian stock market will no doubt like that too.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JUNE 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Air Astana will aim for an IPO within three years, Peter Foster, its CEO, said, according to media. Samruk-Kazyna, the Kazakh sovereign wealth fund owns 51% of Air Astana and BAE Systems (formerly British Aerospace) owns 49%. The Kazakh government has been looking to privatise various companies it owns.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia ratified a deal that gives Armenia tax-free imports of gas, oil and diamonds until it joins the Eurasian Economic Union. Russia has become a major patron of Armenia. This year it completed the purchase of Armenia’s gas supply network. Armenia hopes to join the Eurasian Economic Union this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JUNE 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan has reduced flaring off excess gas at oil producing plants by 50% over the last two years, Anita Georgia a World Bank official said in an interview with Bloomberg.The World Bank is pushing for countries to reduce flaring.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Looking to expand its economy beyond the obvious gas sector, Turkmen officials appear to have hit on the hot idea of developing its tourist sector using a hole in the ground that burns natural gas.
Dubbed “The Gates to Hell”, Turkmen officials have been talking up its allure to international tourists.
“Landmarks such as the burning crater are hugely interesting both to people who love to travel and to researchers in various areas,” AFP quoted Ovez Kurbanov of the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna, as saying.
“Our main task is to create an attractive image of Turkmenistan as a tourism destination.”
The crater, 270km from Ashgabat and roughly the size of half a football pitch, has been burning since 1971 when the earth collapsed during exploration by Soviet scientists. They lit the fumes coming from the pit and it is still burning today.
Turkmenistan international profile has become so entwined with gas that even its main tourist attraction is a homage to it.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A draft report by the World Bank appears to give a green light for Tajikistan to build its controversial Rogun dam which Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon hopes will provide much need electricity. Human rights workers have said that the giant dam will force 42,000 people from their homes.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)