Turkmenistan starts developing area around artificial lake

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new social-industrial complex in the area around the Altyn Asyr lake, Trend reports with reference to the Turkmenistan State News Agency.
The area is located in the Balkan region of Turkmenistan. The concept for the development of the area around the artificial lake "Altyn Asyr" in 2019-2025 has been approved.
The project includes construction of social infrastructure, production facilities, livestock, fish breeding and agricultural complexes. This unique structure, located in the center of the Karakum desert, besides its ecological and national economic mission, is of tremendous social importance, the whole extent of which is difficult to be assessed, since this mega-project implies a long-term multiplicative effect.
This project is estimated at several billion US dollars. This cave is located in the territory of the Balkan region, and it holds about 580 million cubic meters of accumulated water there.
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.
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.