In Turkmenistan water, gas and electricity are free.
The central Asian republic is rich in oil and gas, but it has no municipal wastewater treatment plants and its drinking water is saline. Alexander Danilenko looks at the challenges facing the Central Asian republic’s water sector.
Turkmenistan has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world – largely as a result of its oil and gas reserves. Despite this new-found wealth it struggles to allocate its investment in the water sector effectively. Water is free for all 6.4 million people in Turkmenistan.
Also free of charge are most of the other communal services, such as natural gas, housing, wastewater and solid waste removal. Electricity is free for the first 35kWh per person a month and there is a negligible price for consumption above this limit. State and private companies are virtually exempt from water charges as well, or pay a small portion of water