The president of Turkmenistan launched a new $1.5 billion resort on the desert shore of the Caspian Sea. Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov stood on the porch of one of three gleaming white luxury hotels just completed here, and told thousands of guests that the development would help his energy-rich country diversify its economy. He also said the development represented a chance to attract investors to his Central Asian nation of five million. Last week, Berdymukhamedov said he wanted to expand the country's relations to the United States and the West. “For us there are no near or far countries, large or small companies, there are only honest and reliable partners,” he said. His open-door policy “has created a beneficial investment climate and all the necessary conditions for doing business.” The city of Turkmenbashi is about 700 kilometers (425 miles) west of Ashgabat. Berdymukhamedov said the huge development project, called Avaza, is meant as a rival to tourist resorts on the Red Sea in Egypt and along Turkey's Mediterranean coast. Dozens of foreign businessman attended the opening ceremony, some of them presenting proposals, including a Russian project to build a year-round ski resort with artificial slopes and snow. In the speech, he said the Avaza resort will be designated a free economic zone and granted reduced taxes and import duties. The proposal is another sign of change in the Turkmen economy, which until recent years was mostly closed to foreign corporations. The district, a short distance from the country's largest oil refinery, will stretch for 26 kilometers (16 miles) and cover an area of 5,000 hectares (12,300 acres), including 7-kilometer (4.4-mile) man-made river. Avaza is the latest in a string of eye-catching projects including the construction of a luxury residential and commercial district in the capital that will feature a 722-foot skyscraper and a golf course. Turkmenistan is the second-biggest natural gas producer in the former Soviet Union.
