Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, April 15
By Huseyn Hasanov– Trend:
The concept of developing an area around an artificial lake “Altyn Asyr” in 2019-2025 has been approved in Turkmenistan, Trend reports with reference to the order by Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
The document prescribes the relevant ministries, sectoral departments and regional administrations to ensure the implementation of this concept.
It was earlier reported that Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov at a working meeting noted the importance of the artificial lake “Altyn Asyr” being established in the center of the Karakum desert.
“This important environmental project includes creation of a unified system of collectors for the purposeful collection of drainage water from irrigated lands in all regions of the country and diverting them to the giant hollow cave Garashor located in north-west Turkmenistan,” the report said.
This cave is located in the territory of the Balkan region, and it holds about 580 million cubic meters of accumulated water there. The Turkmen president instructed the relevant officials, together with scientists, to study in detail the state of the lake, to determine the volume of water accumulated in the artificial reservoir, its quality with a view to using it for agricultural needs, especially for the needs of the crops grown in this area.
The water can also be used on lands that are resistant to salinization, and the work can be intensified to develop fisheries, animal breeding, in particular, camel breeding in areas adjacent to the lake.
This project is estimated at several billion US dollars.
The collector-drainage discharges formed within the Mary, Akhal and Balkan regions previously accumulated in the lowlands of Karakum sands, flooding and, among other things, reducing the desert pastures.
Turkmen scientists believe that the creation of a large artificial reservoir in Karakum will improve the reclamation state of irrigated areas of Turkmenistan, increase the productivity of agriculture and prevent soil salinization.