On June 29, 2023, large-scale celebrations were held in Turkmenistan with the participation of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov in honor of the opening of the new city of Arkadag.
The implementation of this megaproject is planned in two stages. As part of the completed first stage of development, 336 social, cultural and other facilities were erected. On June 16, with the participation of the President of Turkmenistan, the laying ceremony of the second phase of the construction of the new city took place. At the same time, vehicles of various types, including electric vehicles, were donated to city institutions and organizations.
The new city, located in the foothills of the Kopetdag Mountains, is an exemplary example of a "smart" city, the life of which is integrated with advanced digital, information and communication and "green" technologies. Considering that environmentally friendly materials were used in the construction of facilities, the environmental agenda is a leading direction. The successful solution of the tasks set in this area is evidenced by the fact that the city of Arkadag was awarded a certificate of accession to the project “Development of sustainable, green, climate-friendly cities with innovative solutions in the region of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe”.
Celebrations in honor of the opening of the country's first "smart" city were launched on the square near the Akhan monument, which was attended by the heads of the diplomatic corps accredited in our country, foreign guests, and representatives of foreign media.
Then, on the Main Square of the Flag of the city of Arkadag, the Minister of Industry and Technology of Turkey Mehmet Fatih Kacir and the Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Exchanges of Turkey Rifat Hisarciklioglu, on the occasion of the historic event, the guests handed the keys to the head of state to two new “TOGG” electric vehicles, which were donated by the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan to President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
During the meeting of the head of state with the Minister of Industry and Technology of Turkey M.F.Kacir and the Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Exchanges of Turkey R.Hisarciklioglu, the friendly, strategic nature of the interstate dialogue, which in recent years has reached a new level, was stated.
Expressing gratitude to the head of state for the support provided in matters of bilateral cooperation, the guests confirmed the high interest of Turkish business circles in building up partnership with Turkmenistan.
In conclusion, the parties expressed confidence in the further successful development of fruitful Turkmen-Turkish relations, and also exchanged congratulations and good wishes on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, which is being celebrated these days.
Also during the celebrations, the opening ceremony of the Arkadag Monument took place.
The opening ceremony of the city of Arkadag was continued by performances of creative teams and a festive parade that unfolded in front of the podium on the square.
Among the objects of the new city are the Pedagogical Secondary Vocational School named after Berdimuhamed Annayev, the Children's Health and Rehabilitation Center named after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Medical Secondary Vocational School named after Sachly Dursunova, kindergartens and secondary schools, medical institutions, sports complexes.
It should be noted that the buildings of the International Academy of Horse Breeding named after Aba Annayev, the Research and Production Center for Horse Breeding were built in the new city.
At the same time, it is important to emphasize that the first “smart” city of Arkadag in Turkmenistan has joined the project “Development of sustainable, green, climate-friendly cities with innovative solutions in the OSCE region”.
Modern buildings of the Library named after Dovletmammet Azadi, the Museum of Local Lore, the Specialized School of Arts named after Saha Dzhepbarov, the Children's School of Arts named after Shukur Bahshi, the State Equestrian Circus named after Gorogly, the State Drama Theater named after Aman Gulmammedov, residential buildings for cultural workers were erected in the new city. In addition, the Arkadag TV channel was created and the Arkadag newspaper was established.
On the basis of the Smart-city concept, administrative and social facilities, comfortable residential buildings, buildings of structures of ministries and departments, bank branches, the State Archives of the city of Arkadag were erected.
The city of Arkadag has an extensive road and transport infrastructure that meets international standards. Wide avenues, streets and roundabouts are equipped with modern lighting, video surveillance and control systems. In particular, the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) uses innovative developments in the modeling of transport systems and the regulation of traffic flows. The main function of ITS is the introduction of "smart" roads equipped with intelligent technologies.
New electric buses and electric taxis are called upon to provide high-quality and cultural service for residents and guests of the city of Arkadag. A QR code option has been created to use programs such as "Duralga" and "Ynamly taksi". There are terminals for making non-cash fare payments and online orders. Dedicated lanes for public transport on highways also determine convenience for passengers.
The work of "smart" car parks and charging stations for electric vehicles located in the city of Arkadag is controlled and regulated using special sensors and modern information and communication technologies.
A characteristic feature of the city of Arkadag are modern 5-, 7- and 9-storey apartment buildings and 2-storey cottages built using smart home technology. This is an intelligent home control system that provides automatic and coordinated activity of all elements of its life support and security in real time via the Internet. Advanced technologies allow you to keep records of the consumption of electricity, drinking water and natural gas. The introduction of a fiber-optic communication system in the new city made it possible to use high-speed Internet. A set of 4G equipment was put into operation to provide high-quality cellular communications.
In the city of Arkadag, the new Service "123" was also put into operation for the first time. This is a single call number for the relevant operational services, including gas and fire safety, and ambulance.
Further, the Head of state visited and got acquainted with the features of one of the apartments, where the “smart” home system combines all home devices and household appliances into a single complex, allowing to exercise control over their functioning, ensuring security and savings, as well as automatically perform actions and solve certain everyday tasks.
Following this, the President was acquainted with the Children's Health and Rehabilitation Center named after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, which provides all the necessary conditions for restoring and strengthening the health of children, their upbringing, education and recreation.
The total area of the new children's town is about 16.3 hectares, which includes a complex of facilities: an administrative building, two kindergartens for 150 and 100 children, a health and rehabilitation department.
It should be emphasized that the headquarters of the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charitable Foundation for Assistance to Children in Need of Guardianship is located in the administrative building. From the first days of its existence, the Fund, established on the initiative of the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan in March 2021, has been doing a lot of effective work, the main goal of which is to take care of our young citizens who have lost parental care and need special social support.
This Center is an important component of the social infrastructure of the new city, which includes a number of healthcare facilities that meet international standards in all respects. Among them are the 350-bed Multidisciplinary Hospital, the 150-bed Cancer Center, the 150-bed Maternal and Child Health Center, the Emergency Center, the Health House, and the Automobile Company, which has various types of specialized vehicles. All these facilities are equipped with the most modern medical equipment from the world's leading manufacturers.
Also in the city, the Main City Department of Physical Culture and Sports was created, a Multi-Profile Sports Complex and a Water Sports Complex, a stadium for 10 thousand seats, equipped with appropriate equipment and inventory, were built. There are all conditions for practicing martial arts, football, volleyball, basketball, tennis and table tennis, weightlifting and track and field athletics, gymnastics, fencing, chess, checkers and others, including water sports. There are also fitness, gym and conference rooms, treatment rooms, etc.
Then, in the Ruhyet Palace, the President of Turkmenistan, Deputy Chairmen of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, heads of military and law enforcement agencies, ministries and sectoral departments, public organizations, Chairman of the State Committee for the Construction of the city of Arkadag under the President of Turkmenistan, hakims of the cities of Arkadag and Ashgabat, foreign guests, representatives of the mass media information took part in the solemn meeting.
During the meeting, the heads of international organizations and representatives of foreign companies presented the Chairman of the State Committee for the Construction of the city of Arkadag under the President of Turkmenistan D.Orazov with more than 20 certificates and diplomas awarded to the new city.
Khusrav Noziri Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization was the first to present the ECO Certificate of Appreciation for the high-class construction of a modern city using optimized technologies, functions and resources, providing an improved structure for improving the quality of life, and taking into account modern urban planning.
The special certificate “City of the 21st century” of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) was presented by the Secretary General of TURKSOY Sultan Raev.
The certificate "The first smart city of the Turkic world" was presented by the Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Kubanychbek Omuraliev.
The Deputy Secretary General of the CIS Ilkhom Nematov presented the diploma to the city of Arkadag for the comprehensive implementation of the «Smart City» program from the Association «International Assembly of Capitals and Large Cities of the CIS (IAC) ».
The Secretary General of the Union of Engineers and Architects of the Turkic World, Ilyas Demirci, presented the city of Arkadag with a special urban planning award of the Turkic World.
The UNIDO Certificate of Appreciation to the city of Arkadag for its contribution to the creation of a smart city using digital technologies of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), aimed at promoting inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, was presented by the Deputy General Director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization Ciyong Zou.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Dmitry Shlapachenko, presented two certificates at once, awarded to the city of Arkadag by organizations and structural divisions of the United Nations.
These are the UNEP Certificate of Appreciation to the city of Arkadag for its efforts to implement the principles of inclusive, safe, smart sustainable settlements and communities that contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda, as well as the Certificate of Appreciation to the city of Arkadag for cooperation with ESCAP on building inclusive, safe, resilient, smart and sustainable cities to achieve the New Urban Agenda and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Director of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education Tao Zhan presented a letter of congratulations from the Institute headed by him on the successful implementation of new digital educational systems that contribute to the digitalization of the economy and sustainable development of Turkmenistan.
Along with this, Tao Zhan conveyed congratulatory letters from the leaders of the League of Arab States Organization for Education, Culture and Science, as well as the Commonwealth of Learning intergovernmental organization.
The certificate "Green and Smart City Arkadag" of the Global Green Growth Institute was presented by Oyunchimeg Amartuvshin, a specialist in the Central Asia Development Program of the Global Green Growth Institute.
United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) scientist Fundaro Salvatore presented the UN-Habitat Certificate of Appreciation to the city of Arkadag for the efforts made to implement the principles of inclusive, safe, sustainable and smart sustainable areas, and communities that contribute to localization Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda in Turkmenistan.
Bahrom Yusupov, a member of the coordinating council of the International Association of Unions of Architects, presented a diploma on innovative architecture of the city of Arkadag.
The certificate of quality of the performed scientific and survey works on seismic microzoning and ensuring the seismic safety of the territory of the city of Arkadag from the Institute of Geophysics and Engineering Seismology named after A.Nazarov of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia was presented by the director of the above-mentioned Institute Jon Karapetyan.
The certificate of compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals and international requirements for ecological construction in accordance with the results of an independent scientific and technical study from the Central Research and Design Institute of the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation was handed over by the deputy general director of this institute Ramzit Maskulov.
The head of FIT International USA Kirt Edwards, presented the California Proclamation of El Cajon City Hall and the Proclamation of Lincoln University (United States of America) declaring June 29, 2023 "Arkadag City Day".
The adviser for the organization of World Records Aydin Turkgucu presented the certificate of the Guinness Book of Records «The most numerous gardening lesson with the participation of 539 people».
The international company "KTQ International GmbH" (Federal Republic of Germany) presented the Multidisciplinary Hospital of Arkadag with the Certificate "Cooperation for openness and quality in the field of healthcare", which was presented by the manager of the certification department of this company Joseph Stanislaus Galert.
The multidisciplinary hospital in the city of Arkadag was also awarded the Quality Certificate of Philips Medical Systems (Kingdom of the Netherlands) on equipping with “Philips” equipment. The manager of the International Export Department of the above-mentioned company Pascal Peter Lambertus Munsters presented the document.
Then the President of Turkmenistan took part in the toy sadaka at the “Märkaw Hotel”, organized on the opening of the city of Arkadag.
On the same day, a number of bilateral documents were signed in the hakimlik of the city of Arkadag. Among them: Agreement on the establishment of sister city relations between the city of Arkadag and the city of Kazan (Republic of Tatarstan of the Russian Federation), Agreement on the establishment of sister city relations between the city of Arkadag and the city of Telavi (Georgia). The list of documents aimed at strengthening relations of friendship and cooperation with foreign partners was also supplemented by the Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of sister city relations between the city of Ashgabat and the city of Baku (Republic of Azerbaijan).
In the evening, the President of Turkmenistan took part in a festive concert of the masters of the arts of the country in the Central Park of the city of Arkadag.
