President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who was on a working visit to Mary Velayat, attended the presentation of a new ambitious investment project for Turkmenistan’s power industry. After the presentation had concluded, the President signed the Resolution on the construction of the 1,574MW combined-cycle power plant on the territory of the Mary state power plant. In accordance with the Resolution, the construction work is to start in July 2015. The facility is to be put into operation in December 2018. The investment project will be implemented jointly with General Electric, one of the long-term business partners of our country in the power industry. Its aim is to develop infrastructure and enhance the export potential of Turkmenistan’s power industry. The cabinet ministers, the heads of the Mary Velayat administration and a number of ministries and departments and the top managers of General Electric (US) and Calik Holding (Turkey) attended the presentation of the first combined-cycle power plant in Turkmenistan, which took place on the territory of the Mary state power plant. Talking to the foreign businessmen, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov emphasized that Turkmenistan sought to modernize and diversify the national economy through applying international best practices and advanced technologies and stood open to cooperation with foreign companies that have the reputation of being dependable and responsible partners. The combined-cycle power plant is a next-generation facility. Four 9 FA gas turbines, four waste heat boilers designed to generate steam, two steam turbines and other equipment will be installed at the new power plant. The coefficient of performance (COP) of a simple-cycle power plant is 34.2 per cent on average, the COP of a combined-cycle power plant is about 57 per cent. The amount of natural gas used to generate 1 kilowatt of electricity will be reduced significantly: from 380 to 216 grams. Combined-cycle power plants are attractive in ecological terms, as the volume of combustion products, namely carbon dioxide, emitted in the air per unit of energy produced is reduced. The 1,574MW power plant will allow increasing the capacity of the Mary state power plant by more than 2 times that will become the largest energy enterprise in the region. The Mary state power station is one of the oldest facilities of Turkmenistan’s power industry. It has seven power-generating units put into operation 30-40 years ago. The construction and putting into operation of the 149.2MW gas turbine power plant on the territory of the Mary state power plant in 2014 made it possible to increase the total capacity of the Mary state power plant up to 1,500 megawatt. Speaking at the presentation, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that the new power plant would make it technically possible to export additional 3 billion kilowatts per hour to foreign countries. Infrastructure facilities, including natural gas and water supply networks, motor roads and railways and power transmission lines designed to supply electrical power in large amounts to other regions of the country and foreign countries are in place to build the new power plant nearby the Mary state power plant. This project will create hundreds of new jobs in Mary Velayat. The President focused on the importance of training engineers and technicians in the country and instructed to incorporate the combined-cycle power plant project in the curriculum of the State Energy Institute and organize advanced training courses for power engineers. President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that special attention in Turkmenistan was paid to the use of eco-friendly technologies that make it possible to reduce fuel consumption and increase power production, in the power industry. Turkmenistan cooperates with the well-known foreign companies, including General Electric, in this sector. Speaking at the presentation, President of GE Energy Western Europe & North Africa Ricardo Cordoba noted that his company was very proud of long-term cooperation with Turkmenistan that has the reputation of being a dependable business partner in the international arena. The businessman said that General Electric would do its best to build up cooperation with Turkmenistan and stood ready to offer its expertise in training specialists for Turkmenistan’s power industry. Focusing on the existing opportunities to expand mutually advantageous partnership, the top manager of General Electric mentioned the use of renewable energy and other energy resources as a promising field of cooperation. The President held a meeting with the top managers of the American and Turkish companies – Ricardo Cordoba from American General Electric and Ahmet Calik from Turkish Calik Enerji that will implement the project of the unique facility for Turkmenistan’s power industry.