Turkmen, South Korean Presidents visit site of first petrochemical plant in Turkmenistan

AKIPRESS.COM - South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for continued cooperation between his country and Turkmenistan on Thursday during a visit to the site of a joint project to build the Central Asian country's first petrochemical plant. He called it a symbol of friendship and cooperation between the two sides.
"I believe the Kiyanly plant project is only the start of economic cooperation between the two countries. The possibility that lies ahead is much greater and limitless," Moon said, meeting with 100 South Korean workers in Kiyanly, Yonhap news agency reports.
The petrochemical plant in the city, 500 kilometers west of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, was built by a global consortium led by South Korea's Hyundai Engineering Co. Hyundai and about a dozen other South Korean firms own a 71.2 percent stake in the US$30 billion construction project, according to Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
On April 17 in Ashgabat, Moon Jae-in and Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov agreed to further expand bilateral cooperation in the energy plant sector. President Berdimuhamedov accompanied the South Korean leader on his trip to Kiyanly.
Moon vowed support for Turkmenistan's development efforts and South Korean companies working with the Central Asian nation.
Moon also congratulated the workers for completing their project without a single accident, which he noted translated into 70 million man-hours without mishap.
"This means there had not been a single accident for 1,400 straight days if we say 5,000 workers worked 10 hours each every day," he said. "It is a globally unprecedented record set at such a large scale construction site."
Moon's trip to the Kiyanly plant concluded his three-day state visit to Turkmenistan that began Tuesday.
He will next visit Uzbekistan, the second stop of a three-nation tour that will also take him to Kazakhstan.