President Serdar Berdimuhamedov travelled to the northern Dashoguz velayat on Wednesday for groundbreaking ceremonies for a 546-kilometre highway linking the capital to the north, a cottonseed oil plant and a large nitrogen fertiliser complex. He also formally opened a 44-kilometre section of the Turkmenbashi–Garabogaz–Kazakhstan highway in the Balkan velayat by live video link, according to the state news agency TDH.
The events were timed to coincide with Construction and Industrial Workers’ Day.
Ashgabat–Dashoguz highway
The new road will start at the Oguz Khan fountain complex in Ashgabat and run 546 kilometres to Dashoguz. The president described it as a key link in the planned North–South transport corridor, saying it would raise transit capacity, improve road safety and increase trade and passenger flows with neighbouring countries.
According to project details presented at the ceremony:
- The route is divided into four sections with varying widths: eight lanes on the first nine kilometres (65-metre roadbed), six lanes at both ends (km 9–48 and km 527–546), and four lanes over the long middle stretch (km 48–527).
- A new 812-metre, two-lane bridge will be built in the Nayzalydepiz lowland, with two kilometres of access roads. Nine existing bridges will be modernised.
- Along the route there will be 136 bus stops, 13 parking areas, seven traffic police posts, and video surveillance and speed-control systems.
Vegetable oil plant, Garashsyzlyk district
Work also began on a plant designed to process 60,000 tonnes of industrial cottonseed a year. The president said it would be equipped with technology from international companies and employ about 250 people.
- Site and capacity: The facility covers 122,500 square metres and is designed to receive 600 tonnes of raw material daily. Pressing capacity is 200 tonnes per day, and the refinery can purify 50 tonnes of oil per day.
- Output: A bottling line is planned to produce about nine million one-litre bottles annually.
- Stated aim: Officials said the plant would help supply the domestic market, support food security and develop the domestic processing sector.
Nitrogen fertiliser complex, Garashsyzlyk district
The third groundbreaking was for a complex designed to produce 350,000 tonnes of urea and 350,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate per year.
- Feedstock and power: Natural gas is the main raw material, with annual consumption provisionally estimated at 630 million cubic metres. Power will come from integrated turbogenerators.
- Markets: Officials said output would fully meet domestic demand, with a significant share of the urea earmarked for export.
- Jobs: More than 1,000 jobs are expected.
- Contractors: Turkish group Çalık Holding’s construction arm, GAP İnşaat, will build the facility in partnership with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH, which supplies the ammonia, urea and ammonium nitrate technology.
Speaking at the ceremony, Çalık Holding chairman Ahmet Çalık thanked the Turkmen leadership for entrusting his company with the project and pledged construction to international standards. Michael Harms, executive director of the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, said Turkmen–German economic ties had reached a high level and called the project another step in strengthening them. Nadja Håkansson, CEO of Thyssenkrupp Uhde, said the company was ready to provide its technology and engineering expertise.
Garabogaz–border section opened
By live link, the president gave his blessing for the opening of the Garabogaz–border zone section of the Turkmenbashi–Garabogaz–Kazakhstan highway. He said the foundation stone for the highway was laid last year. Honorary elders in the Balkan velayat cut the ribbon.
- Length and layout: The section is 44 kilometres long, with two 9-metre carriageways separated by a 3.5-metre median and 3-metre shoulders on each side, for a 27.5-metre roadbed.
- Construction: The road has a layered gravel-sand base on geotextile, topped with three layers of hot-mix asphalt concrete (8 cm porous, 7 cm coarse, 5 cm dense fine).
- Corridor role: Officials describe the road as part of the North–South international transport corridor, and the president said it would become a key link in internationally significant transport routes.
Policy context
The president tied the projects to the National Program for Socioeconomic Development of Turkmenistan for 2022–2052 and the 2022–2028 programme, and said the country had recently adopted a National Strategy for Industrial Development for 2030–2045. He said the chemical industry is being modernised with a focus on local raw materials, and that work on regional development would continue.
At each site, a young representative presented the president with a commemorative capsule, which he placed in the foundation before laying the first shovel of concrete. He then flew back to Ashgabat.
Speech by the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov at the ceremony marking the laying of the foundation stone for a highway and industrial enterprises in the Dashoguz velayat, as well as the opening of a new highway in the Balkan velayat
Dear compatriots!
Esteemed friends!
We are participating in the groundbreaking ceremony for several significant projects in the Dashoguz region of our country, namely the Ashgabat-Dashoguz highway, an oil extraction plant for processing industrial cotton seeds, and a new nitrogen fertilizer production complex. Furthermore, in the Balkan region, the Garabogaz-Kazakhstan border section of the Turkmenbashi-Garabogaz-Kazakhstan border highway is being commissioned today.
I sincerely congratulate you on these wonderful events – the laying of the foundations of new facilities and the opening of a section of the highway!
Dear friends!
Our wise ancestors considered the construction of roads and bridges a significant undertaking, which subsequently grew into a noble tradition. Today, in Turkmenistan, the heart of the Great Silk Road, this tradition has been worthy of continuation – new highways and bridges are being consistently built in our country, and the road network is being significantly modernized. All this work is the result of our successfully implemented large-scale programs – the “Program for the Revival of a New Era of a Powerful State: the National Program for the Socioeconomic Development of Turkmenistan in 2022–2052” and the “Program of the President of Turkmenistan for the Socioeconomic Development of the Country in 2022–2028.”
Thus, today we are launching construction of the Ashgabat–Dashoguz highway, which is intended to become a key link in the promising North–South transport corridor. The construction of this highway, which will connect the northern region of our country with the capital, will enhance transport and transit potential and ensure the safety of transport links, as well as significantly increase trade, traffic, and passenger flows between neighboring countries.
Along the highway, which is approximately 550 kilometers long, all necessary amenities will be created for passengers and drivers, and modern digitally controlled instruments and control systems will be installed. A new 812-meter-long road bridge will be built along the route, and the existing nine will be completely modernized.
Dear friends!
Last year, the foundation stone for the Turkmenbashi-Garabogaz-Kazakhstan border highway was laid. Today, we are commissioning its 44-kilometer section, from Garabogaz to the border zone. This road infrastructure, part of the international North-South transport corridor, will become a key link in internationally significant transport routes.
Dear friends!
Today, the foundation of a modern vegetable oil production facility with a processing capacity of 60,000 tons of industrial cottonseed per year is being laid in the Garashsyzlyk district of the Dashoguz velayat. The production facility will be equipped with cutting-edge equipment from international companies with extensive experience in this field. This equipment will ensure the facility operates in accordance with international standards and produces high-quality vegetable oil. Upon its launch, the facility will provide adequate conditions for approximately 250 people.
Dear friends!
We attach particular importance to the development of national industry on an innovative basis, and to this end, we recently adopted the “National Strategy for Industrial Development of Turkmenistan for 2030–2045.”
Currently, export-oriented production is actively developing in the country, and the range and volume of high-quality products produced are also increasing.
The chemical industry is one of the most significant sectors of the national economy, and significant measures are being taken to modernize it: large capital investments are being made, large-scale projects are being implemented, and modern technologies are being widely introduced into production processes.
Today, the domestic chemical industry consists of several powerful enterprises that effectively operate, with a primary focus on using local raw materials.
The new chemical facility, whose foundation we are laying today in the Dashoguz velayat, is also a major investment project. This complex will incorporate cutting-edge technological solutions from leading European and Asian companies, ensuring that production processes comply with environmental standards.
The facility is designed to produce 350,000 tons of urea and 350,000 tons of ammonium nitrate per year. This capacity will allow the complex to fully meet the needs of domestic farmers and also export fertilizers. Furthermore, it will create over a thousand new jobs. Many of these future specialists have been trained at foreign universities, and the necessary conditions have been created for them. Overall, the construction of a modern nitrogen fertilizer production complex will significantly contribute to the long-term development of the domestic chemical industry.
Dear friends!
We are successfully implementing a program for the socioeconomic development of our regions, including the Dashoguz velayat. For example, large-scale industrial enterprises and social facilities are being systematically built and commissioned here.
We will continue our course towards the development of all regions of our independent Fatherland.
Dear friends!
Dear ceremony participants!
I sincerely congratulate you on the recent remarkable events of the year “Independent Neutral Turkmenistan – Homeland of Purposeful Winged Horses”: the laying of the foundation of the Ashgabat-Dashoguz highway, the oil extraction plant for processing industrial cotton seeds, and the new nitrogen fertilizer production complex, as well as the commissioning of a section of the Garabogaz-Border Zone highway!
I wish you good health, family well-being and great success in your work! /// nCa, 5 November 2026