AUG. 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has signed another major gas supply deal, underlining its growing status as a regional energy super-power. A Turkish-Japanese consortium will build a $1.7b gas plant in Turkmenistan that will process natural gas into high quality fuel for export. Most of Turkmenistan’s natural gas it pumped to China.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 197, published on Aug. 27 2014)
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.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 192, published on July 9 2014)
JUNE 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – During a trip to Ashgabat by South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov awarded a $4b contract to build gas processing plants to South Korea’s LG and Hyundai. Ms Geun-hye has been on a week-long tour of Central Asia that has taken in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan too.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
May 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) -Kazakhstan signed a deal with Russia to build a new nuclear plant in Kurchatov, a city in the north-east of the country. Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev has said for years that he wanted to build another nuclear power plant, although the location and partners needed to build it had not been specified.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)
APRIL 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Property prices in Almaty have risen by 25% over the past year as the economy rebounds and the city attracts migrants looking for work, media reported. Kazakhstan’s economy is still relatively fragile and the large property price increase has triggered concerns of a bubble.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 182, published on April 30 2014)
MARCH 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan has started a 500m euro project to transform an old Yugoslav navy base in Montenegro into a luxury resort. The construction of the resort is controversial because it is being bankrolled by Azerbaijan’s sate-owned oil company and Azmont Investments, a company with close links to the Azerbaijani elite.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 175, published on March 12 2014)
FEB. 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to approve a $45m loan next month to finance the reconstruction of road and bridges along the Georgian border, Azerbaijani media reported. The ADB has been instrumental in pushing ahead plans to rebuild Azerbaijan’s Soviet-era infrastructure.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 173, published on Feb. 26 2014)
FEB. 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan has begun constructing a gas chemical complex on the shores of the Caspian Sea, media reported. Turkmenistan has grown wealthy from natural gas sales over the past few years and is trying to boost its domestic industrial base.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 173, published on Feb. 26 2014)
FEB. 6 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Highlighting Azerbaijan’s poor infrastructure, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) pledged to lend $150m to build new roads. The loan is part of a multi-tranche plan by the ADB to boost the road network across the country. The total cost of the project is $625m with ADB funding $500 and the Azerbaijani government the other $125m
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)
FEB. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Around 700 workers building the 88-storey Abu Dhabi Plaza in Astana went on strike after complaining about their pay, media reported. The Abu Dhabi Tower project was unveiled last year to much fanfare. UAE investors are funding the $1.6b tower which was expected to be finished by 2016.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 171, published on Feb. 12 2014)