On Tuesday, Turkmenistan stated, it will be importing equipment and materials worth $1.5 billion to build a new city from scratch.

The project in the gas-rich Central Asian country is overseen by its President, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s son.

The move is in contrast with its overall policy of limiting imports against a backdrop of foreign currency shortages and depressed energy prices.

In 2019, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, 38, the only son of Turkmenistan’s president, was appointed as the governor of central Ahal province; he has been tasked by his father with building a new provincial center.

On Monday, Turkmenistan’s President Berdymukhamedov signed a decree allocating $1.47 billion toward imports of construction materials, equipment and other items needed for the yet-to-be named city.

According to a forecast by the International Monetary Fund, Turkministan’s imports were to reach $5.4 billion in 2019.

In November 2019, its mission in the country noted that foreign currency rationing continued to be in force.

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