Daewoo International paved the way for Korean business firms to enter Turkmenistan by signing an MOU to build a steel rod and pipe production plant worth $1 billion on April 13.
Signing took place at Cheong Wa Dae in the presence of President Park Geun-hye and her counterpart President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov of Turkmenistan. The Ministry of Industry of Turkmenistan’s plan to build the steel plant is part of the Central Asian nation’s plan to build a steel plant complex with an annual production capacity of 1 million tons of steel products.
POSCO Construction will take charge of a wide range of the projected steel plant from design and procurement to construction, in addition to operation and management of the plant when it’s finished. The construction company and Daewoo International are expected to create synergy during their operations in the Central Asian country.
Daewoo International officials said Turkmenistan, which is rich in natural resources, is benchmarking Korea’s experiences as a model to develop its economy. They plan to take advantage of the Central Asian country’s economic development plan and seek business opportunities in such areas as a farm tractor plant, transportation, power and communication and other key infrastructure projects.
The Turkmenistan mission led by President Berdymukhammedov signed deals worth $6 billion in such areas as gas, oil and steel plant-related services through MOUs and basic agreements. The deals were signed following a summit between the chief executives of the two countries at Cheong Wa Dae.
Other deals signed by Daewoo International, POSCO Construction and LG Trading with the Ministry of Industry of Turkmenistan, and government organizations of Turkmenistan in the presence of the chief executives of the two nations included those for gas plant construction, a project to modernize an oil refinery and the construction of a steel plant. Eight deals were signed in total.
Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia with a population of about 5 million, and an area around half a million square kilometres, or almost the size of Spain. Neighbouring countries are Iran and Afghanistan to the South, and Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the North. It has a coast on the Caspian Sea, but is otherwise landlocked. Nearly 80 percent of the country is considered part of the Karakum Desert.
The traditional life of the Turkmen is that of nomadic shepherds, though some have been settled in towns for centuries. The country is known for its fine carpets (one is even featured in its flag) and horses. Turkmenistan is a fairly poor and underdeveloped country, even though billions have been spent on modernization in Ashgabat, Turkmenbashi, and many other cities in post Soviet times. While there has been much construction in Ashgabat, most of the downtown high rises appear empty. And also, the country has extensive oil and gas reserves being developed, with recently opened pipelines to China, Iran, and soon Azerbaijan.
The people of Turkmenistan are predominantly Turkmen, also spelled Turkoman, in both ethnicity and language. Turkmenistan traditionally was home to a sizeable ethnic Russian population, but they largely relocated to the Russian Federation following the break up of the Soviet Union. According to the 1995 census 77 percent of the population are Turkmen, 9 percent Uzbek and 7 percent Russian.
According to the Ruhnama, the Turkmens originated from Oguz Han and all Oguz people descend from Oguz Han's 24 grandsons. The original homeland of the Oguz tribes was the Ural-Altay region of Central Asia. The Orhun inscriptions (6th century) mentions the "six Oghuz tribal union", referring to the unification of the six Turkic tribes. This was the first written reference to Oghuz, dated to the period of the G?kt?rk Empire. The Book of Dede Korkut, the historical epic of the Oghuz Turks, was written in the 9th and 10th cent. They migrated westwards in the area of the Aral Sea and the Syr Darya Basin in the 10th century.
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