Chemical Industry Workers’ Day in Turkmenistan Date in the current year: March 31, 2024

Such a date was chosen to commemorate the inauguration of the Garlyk Ore Mining and Processing Plant that took place on March 31, 2017. The plant was constructed by the Belarusian enterprise OAO Belgorkhimprom, so President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko was in attendance at the opening ceremony. Berdimuhamedow and Lukashenko cut the ribbon and pressed a symbolic button to start the works.

The new plant is said to be the biggest potash plant in Central Asia. It is expected to reach a capacity of 1.4 million tons of potash products per year within three years. The bulk of them will be exported since Turkmenistan’s domestic demand is under 10,000 tons per year.

Chemical industry is one of the most rapidly developing sectors of the economy of Turkmenistan. As of late 2017, the country has nine chemical plants that produce mineral salts, bromine, iodine, sulfuric and nitric acids, and nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. The government of Turkmenistan has announced plants to set up joint ventures with foreign companies to produce chemicals using local raw materials.