White Elephants Pose Risk

If the new Turkmen president continues to focus on grandiose construction projects in the the capital Ashgabat as his predecessor did, experts are warning that not only will living conditions deteriorate, but the risk of earthquake damage will become even more serious.



During a tour of the capital on February 25, President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov criticised the city’s infrastructure and announced plans to construct a ring road, a number of large educational and government buildings and markets, and to continue the intensive building of tall apartment blocks.



Former president Saparmurat Niazov, who died suddenly in December, has become infamous for his taste in gigantic, grandiose buildings. His fantasies were turned into reality at greate cost by foreign construction firms.



Local commentators worry that his successor may continue this policy – or at the very least he will pursue Niazov’s urban development programme to its conclusion. “Talks have taken place with just about all the construction firms, and all the contracts that Niazov signed have been confirmed,” said one source.



Commentators stress that what the capital really needs is the restoration of its worn out sewage networks and communication lines.



“Turkmenbashi [Niazov] built a great deal, but he didn’t bother updating utility systems hidden underground. If that doesn’t change, Ashgabat may end up sitting in a swamp of waste water,” said another commentator in the capital.



In his view, people are now hoping that Berdymuhammedov will build more housing, since in Niazov’s time many homes were demolished to make room for elite construction projects. The people forced to move were never properly compensated, and many throusands now live either in workers’ hostels or with relatives.



One Ashgabat-based journalist is concerned that the new tall buildings will not withstand earthquakes, to which the city is prone. “The whole approach to infrastructure creation in Ashgabat needs to be seriously reconsidered given the seismic instability of this area,” he said.



Ashgabat had to be completely rebuilt after the 1948 earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale which flattened most of the city, killing around 110,000 people.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)