ASHGABAT'S PRICEY WHITE MARBLE DECOR

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001643

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN; EEB;
COMMERCE FOR DSTARKS/EHOUSE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV EIND EMIN BBSR BEXP BTIO TX
SUBJECT: ASHGABAT'S PRICEY WHITE MARBLE DECOR


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) In the mid 1990s, the late Turkmen President Niyazov
ordered that each newly-built, multistoried house or office building
be decked with white marble siding, in order to beautify Turkmen
cities, especially Ashgabat. Although the marble is pleasing to the
eye, there has been concern regarding its cost and its radon
radiation levels. The Turkmen standardization authority checks
marble and granite radon radiation levels on all construction
projects. Nevertheless, local residents in Ashgabat have complained
of radon-related illness from buildings, especially where marble is
used in the interior of the building as well as the exterior.
Nevertheless, the white marble requirement remains in force by
Niyazov's successor President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who
continues to spend a large share of his nation's hydrocarbon
revenues on elaborate construction projects.


3. (SBU) Stone mines in northern Kuihop, Vietnam supply the
overwhelming majority of white marble for Ashgabat's white city
projects. A well known Turkmen entrepreneur and his Indian partner
told Embassy reps that they sell marble siding and flooring to
foreign construction companies in Turkmenistan. Their company
reportedly controls 20 percent of the Turkmen market, which amounts
to sales between $8-12 million a month depending on the type of
marble and whether it is purchased during high or low construction
seasons. They asserted that the Turkmen construction sector
consumes 1 million square meters of marble annually, while
estimating that marble siding alone costs the country around $120
million a year. The price for 1 square meter of Vietnamese marble
in Turkmenistan reportedly ranges between $50 and $70. So, on
average, a standard, twelve-story building, which has an exterior
area of about 14,000 square meters, may cost the government between
$700,000 -$980,000 in marble siding alone. The French construction
giant Bouygues also imports expensive Italian marble blocks. This
high-cost Italian marble can be found on the most expensive office
buildings in the country. Marble traders added that Bouygues saves
big on costs by cutting its high-end marble blocks in a factory just
outside Ashgabat.


4. (SBU) One Turkmen marble dealer stated that marble procurement
for construction in the country has risen significantly during the
three years that Berdimuhamedov has been president. The Caspian
resort area Avaza and new regional projects all require marble
siding, with reportedly no exceptions. At the same time, recent
competition for marble among producers has reduced prices somewhat,
as construction companies have reportedly turned to cheaper marble
products produced in smaller Vietnamese mines. The Turkmen
government's recent move to strengthen control over the importation
of radioactive materials has further complicated these large stone
imports. Moreover, the white marble siding is usually hung on a few
steel pegs with each slab weighing 100 lbs on average. During an
earthquake, some construction experts fear that the marble could
easily dislodge and become flying hazards for those on the ground in
the proximity of the large marble structures.

5. (SBU) COMMENT: The white marble buildings which abound in
Ashgabat have turned the "city of love" into the "white city." In
addition, these white buildings continue to pop up in other Turkmen
cities. Although President Berdimuhamedov has divorced himself from
some of the practices of his predecessor Niyazov, it looks like
white marble is here to stay, despite exuberant costs and subsequent
safety issues. END COMMENT.
CURRAN