Monday, May 14, 2012 -
The chief of U.S. firm General Electric Energy held talks with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on opportunities for expansion and cooperation, close to the first anniversary of the opening of its office in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat.
Cristiano Tortelli, the firm’s chief executive officer for Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and Russia, told the Turkmen leader the company aims at actively boosting its investments to support the diversification of the gas-fuelled economy.
Berdimuhamedov is seeking foreign know-how to modernize and broaden the energy infrastructures of the ex-Soviet republic, Central Asia’s top gas producer and exporter.
Turkmenistan foresees the need of greater amounts of electric power for its expanding economy and to catch up with growing external demand for its electricity exports, the New Europe news agency reported Sunday.
GE Energy has installed gas turbines at several new power plants in the country, each with the capacity to generate more than 1,700 megawatts of electricity. The firm also provides water purification and oil and gas technologies.
GE opened its first office in Turkmenistan in May 2011. The office serves as a hub for the company’s growing business, providing specialists, demonstrations of new technologies as well as support for ongoing activities in the country’s power generation and oil and gas sectors.