ASHGABAT (Reuters) - Turkmenistan will import $1.5 billion worth of equipment and materials to build a new city from scratch, the gas-rich Central Asian nation's government said on Tuesday, in a project overseen by President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov's son.
The move contrasts with the country's overall policy of limiting imports against a backdrop of foreign currency shortages and depressed energy prices.
Serdar Berdymukhamedov, 38, the president's only son and regarded by some observers as a potential successor, became the governor of central Ahal province last year and has been tasked by his father with building a new provincial center.
This week, President Berdymukhamedov signed a decree allocating $1.47 billion toward imports of construction materials, equipment and other items needed for the new city - which has yet to be named.
The former Soviet republic's imports were forecast to reach $5.4 billion last year, according to the International Monetary Fund, whose mission also noted last November that foreign currency rationing continued in the country.