Turkmenistan to spend $1.5 bln on building city from scratch
ASHGABAT, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Turkmenistan will import $1.5 billion worth of equipment and materials to build a new city from scratch, the gas-rich Central Asian nation's government said on Tuesday, in a project overseen by President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov's son.
The move contrasts with the country's overall policy of limiting imports against a backdrop of foreign currency shortages and depressed energy prices.
Serdar Berdymukhamedov, 38, the president's only son and regarded by some observers as a potential successor, became the governor of central Ahal province last year and has been tasked by his father with building a new provincial centre.
This week, President Berdymukhamedov signed a decree allocating $1.47 billion towards imports of construction materials, equipment and other items needed for the new city - which has yet to be named.
The former Soviet republic's imports were forecast to reach $5.4 billion last year, according to the International Monetary Fund, whose mission also noted last November that foreign currency rationing continued in the country. (Reporting by Marat Gurt, writing by Olzhas Auyezov, editing by Richard Pullin)
