Arkadag (Turkmen ''arka'' "behind" + ''dag'' "mountain", connoting "protector") is a city in southern

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. It became the regional capital of

Ahal Province Ahal Region (; from , also ) is one of five provinces of Turkmenistan. It is in the south-center of the country, bordering Iran and Afghanistan along the Kopet Dag Range. Its area is and population 886,845 (2022 census).''Statistical Yearbook ...

effective 20 December 2022. It is a largely greenfield development started in 2019 with an initial budget of $1.5 billion. The city was named in honor of former president

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957) is a Turkmen politician and former dentist who is currently the chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan. He previously served as the second president of Turkmenistan from ...

, father of sitting president

Serdar Berdimuhamedow Serdar Gurbangulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 22 September 1981) is a Turkmenistani politician who is currently serving as the third and current president of Turkmenistan since 2022. Berdimuhamedow had previously served in several other position ...

, who is officially entitled ''Arkadag''. Uniquely among Turkmen cities, Arkadag is by law designated a "city of state importance".

Geography

The city is situated on a plain due west of the city limit of Turkmenistan's capital city,

Ashgabat Ashgabat (Turkmen language, Turkmen: ''Aşgabat'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag, Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 ...

, and east of the neighboring city of

Gökdepe Gökdepe, also Geok Tepe, is a city in and the administrative center of Gökdepe District, Ahal Region, Turkmenistan, north-west of Ashgabat. The city is built around a former fortress of the Turkmens which bore the same name. The city lies alon ...

at latitude 38.0659 degrees north and longitude 58.0727 degrees east. By parliamentary decree of 18 March 2023 the city was divided into two districts (), named Kärizek and Gorjaw. As of 30 March 2023, the districts were upgraded to boroughs, each with a presidentially appointed mayor. Kärizek Borough includes the residential community (formerly a village) of Aba Annaýew, constructed to house equestrians and support staff for the nearby hippodrome. In May 2023 the Turkmenistan parliament designated Aba Annaýew a town, subordinate to the city of Arkadag and part of Kärizek Borough. Decrees of the Turkmenistan Parliament have periodically transferred land from both Ahal Province and the city of Ashgabat to Arkadag, amending its borders.

History

In November 2018, then-President

began reviewing project proposals for construction of a new capital for Ahal Province. On 4 March 2019, Berdimuhamedow issued a decree ordering construction to begin. Construction began with a ceremonial laying of the cornerstone of the new provincial administration building on 10 April 2019. Although earlier project proposals had planned for the city's area to cover no more than 880 hectares, the approved project was for 1002 hectares. By parliamentary decree of 20 December 2022, the city was named Arkadag in honor of Berdimuhamedow, the seat of Ahal Province was moved from Anau to Arkadag, and the nearby village o
Aba Annayew
was annexed to the city. Local media reported,

With the goals of improving living conditions of the population in the framework of the first phase of construction 258 2-, 5-, 7- and 9-story apartment buildings will be built. In addition, 19 retail stores, 3 repair centers, a hotel, a shopping mall and a leisure park are being built.

On 23 January 2023 the municipal court and prosecutor were created by presidential decree. A law passed in March 2023 on the city's status designated it a "city of national importance" (). In July 2023 opposition media reported that demolition had begun of the village of Gorjaw to allow completion of the new city of Arkadag. State-controlled media reported in October 2023 that the second phase of construction is scheduled to be completed by September 2026. This announcement clarified an earlier report of March 2023 that the second phase of construction was to be completed by 2026. In November 2023, Arkadag's land area was expanded by another 119 hectares, 102 from neighboring

Gökdepe District Gökdepe District () is a district of Ahal Region, Turkmenistan. Administrative Subdivisions * Cities (şäherler) ** Gökdepe * Towns (şäherçeler) ** Yzgant (''inc.'' Çaran, Garaajy, Mämmetýar, Sowma) * Village councils (geňeşlikler) ** ...

and 17 from the city of

Cost of construction

Opposition media reported in February 2023 that imported construction materials for the second phase of construction would cost an estimated $1.296 billion, in addition to the presumed original cost of phase one construction of $1.466 billion, implying a total cost of city construction in excess of $2.76 billion. In March 2023, however, a Turkmen construction official reported that the first phase would cost an estimated $3.3 billion and the second phase an estimated $1.5 billion, for a total of $4.8 billion.

Planned amenities

Phase two construction is reported to include

...five secondary schools for 720 pupils each, nine kindergartens for 320 children, a polyclinic, fire station...administrative buildings of the mayor of Arkadag, a museum, a square, a shopping center and a household goods store in one building, 36 five-storey apartment buildings with 30 apartments each, 36 five-storey apartment buildings with 40 apartments each, twenty-four 42-apartment seven-storey building, 14 nine-storey buildings of 54 apartments each...a railway station, a bus depot and a taxi dispatcher station, a bus station of Ahal Province.

In June 2023 President Serdar Berdimuhamedow decreed that the city include a seismological station for monitoring seismic activity. He also decreed that Arkadag city should feature factories for production of "food, industrial, pharmaceutical and medical products". In January 2024, President Berdimuhamedow approved a contract with Goetzpartners Emerging Markets GmbH, a German firm, for consulting services related to construction of facilities for producing food, pharmaceutical, medical, and other industrial goods.

City inauguration celebrations

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov ordered the

Cabinet of Ministers A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they are ...

to prepare celebrations in honor of the city's opening for 2023, including a military parade and concert on the Main Square. The cornerstone of the mosque was laid 20 January 2023. By presidential decree the city's formal opening was set for 29 June 2023, which coincided with the birthday of former President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.

Architecture

Buildings

The city was built based on a centralized architectural plan following a design competition involving five separate submissions. All buildings are faced with white marble along symmetrically laid out streets. The following facilities will be named as follows: * Arkadag Monument * Aba Annayev International Academy of Horse Breeding * Berdimuhamed Annayev Ahal Velayat Pedagogical Secondary Vocational School * Sachly Dursunova Ahal Velayat Medical Secondary Vocational School * Görogly State Equestrian Circus *

Döwletmämmet Azady Döwletmämmet Azady ( ''Doulatmammed Āzādi''; ) was a Turkmen poet and Sufi scholar. He is the father of poet Magtymguly Pyragy, the "father of Turkmen literature". Memory The resting place of Azady and his son Magtymguly is located in Akto ...

Ahal Velayat Library * Aman Gulmammedov State Drama Theater * Sahy Jepbarov Specialized Art School of Ahal Velayat * Shukur

Bagshy A bagshy is a professional Turkmen bard who devotes his or her life to memorizing and reciting historical epics ('' dessan'' in Turkmen), typically accompanied by the traditional two-stringed instrument known as the dutar. Bagshys have enjoyed gr ...

Children's Art School All residential buildings, except for the two-story cottages, are equipped with modern

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

s able to serve as cargo elevators.

Medical institutions

* Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow Health and Rehabilitation Center * Ahal Region Health Department * General hospital with 350 beds * Oncology center with 150 beds, * Maternal and child health center with 150 beds * Ambulance center

Smart city

Arkadag is intended to be Turkmenistan's first "smart city".

Industry

It is planned to create an

industrial cluster A business cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected businesses, suppliers, and associated institutions in a particular field. Clusters are considered to increase the productivity with which companies can compete, nationally and glo ...

in the city focused on the production of certain types of products from the medical and pharmaceutical industries and baby food. The German company Goetzpartners will provide consulting services for the construction of facilities in the industrial zone of the city of Arkadag for the production of food, industrial, pharmaceutical and medical products.

Street names

People's Council of Turkmenistan The People's Council of Turkmenistan (, ɑlq mɑθlɑxɑt̪ɯ "People's Council") is Turkmenistan's independent "representative body" exerting supreme constitutional authority. It includes in its membership, but is not considered part of, ...

Chairperson and former President of Turkmenistan Berdimuhamedov has proposed naming Arkadag's streets after "great personages, who left their undimmed impact on national culture, art, literature, and history," and in particular named

Berdi Kerbabayev Berdi Muradovich Kerbabayev (; ; 3 March 1894 – 3 March 1974) was a Soviet and Turkmen writer, the national writer of the Turkmen SSR, an academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Turkmen SSR and a member of the Communist Party of the So ...

Kerim Gurbannepesow Kerim is both a masculine given name and a surname. People with the name include: Given name * Kerim Chatty (born 1973), Swedish man suspected of attempted hijacking of an aircraft in 2002 *Kerim Erim (1894–1952), Turkish mathematician and ph ...

Gurbannazar Ezizow Gurbannazar Ezizov or Gurbannazar Ezizow (1 March 1940 – 20 September 1975) was a Turkmen poet and winner of the Magtymguly State Prize of Turkmenistan. Biography Gurbannazar Ezizow was born on 1 March 1940 in Büzmeýin. He began attending ...

, Alty Garlyyev, and

Maya Kuliyeva Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a po ...

, among others.

Districts

As of 30 March 2023 Arkadag includes two boroughs: Kärizek etraby and Gorjaw etraby, (), each with a presidentially appointed mayor (). The former village of Aba Annayev was upgraded to town status, and is included in Kärizek District.

Transportation

The city is connected to Ashgabat by

Kopetdag Avenue The Köpet Dag, Kopet Dagh, or Koppeh Dagh (; ), also known as the Turkmen-Khorasan Mountain Range, is a mountain range on the border between Turkmenistan and Iran that extends about along the border southeast of the Caspian Sea, stretching nort ...

and the M37 highway. The largest nearby airport is

Ashgabat International Airport Ashgabat International Airport () , formerly known as Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy International Airport, is one of five international airports in Turkmenistan. It is located within the city limits of Ashgabat (Ashkhabad). The old airport, with its ...

, which offers domestic and international flights.

Railway

A railway station will be built in the city. There are plans to launch express passenger rail service on the Arkadag-

route with a speed of up to 140 km/hour. The travel time of the electric train from Ashgabat to Arkadag will be 18 minutes. It is expected that the project will be implemented by

Russian Railways Russian Railways or RZD () is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both managing infrastructure and operating freight and passenger train services and has a near-monopoly on long-distance train travel in Russia. ...

. A high-speed railroad also is planned from Arkadag to

Avaza Awaza (or Avaza) refers to both a tourist zone in and a borough (district headed by a presidentially appointed mayor) of the city of Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan. It is located on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, 12 km west of downtown ...

Automobile transport

The city plans to introduce ground-based public electric transport, including Chinese

Yutong Yutong (officially Zhengzhou Yutong Group Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese manufacturer of commercial vehicles, especially electric buses, headquartered in Zhengzhou, Henan. Yutong also has businesses in construction machinery, real estate, and other in ...

electric buses and Jac J7 cars. Electric vehicles Runhorse Jinma are used to deliver groceries throughout the city.

Cycleways

The city will include 15 km of bicycle paths. A first mass cycling rally was held in April 2023.

Roads

The city is equipped with smart

traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...

s. They are equipped with special buttons and sound signals so that visually- and hearing-impaired people can easily cross streets. The traffic lights will change their operating mode depending on traffic congestion on the streets and intersections. Computer servers analyze images from street cameras and send signals to the traffic lights. Sidewalks are paved with tactile sidewalk tiles. Pedestrian overpasses in the city are equipped with

s or

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...

Media

The city launched its own Arkadag television channel and ''Arkadag'' newspaper. As of 2025, the city receives radio 4 FM stations: Owaz, Char Tarapdan, Miras and Watan.

Telecommunication

2G, 3G and

LTE LTE may refer to: Science and technology * LTE (telecommunication) (Long-Term Evolution), a mobile telephony standard ** LTE Advanced, an enhancement ** LTE Advanced Pro, a further enhancement * Compaq LTE, a line of laptop computers * Leukotrie ...

networks from Altyn Asyr are available in the city. On February 22, 2025, high-speed Internet

4G+ 4G refers to the fourth generation of cellular network technology, first introduced in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Compared to preceding third-generation ( 3G) technologies, 4G has been designed to support all-IP communications and broadban ...

was launched. The city plans to launch 5G technology. Preparations for the implementation are being carried out by the Türkmenaragatnaşyk Agency. As of February 2025,

Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei" sometimes stylized as "HUAWEI"; ; zh, c=华为, p= ) is a Chinese multinational corporationtechnology company in Longgang, Shenzhen, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its main product lines include teleco ...

base stations have been installed for testing. The technology is expected to be launched in the near future using the TürkmenÄlem 52°E satellite. Optical

GPON ITU-T G.984 is the series of standards for implementing a gigabit-capable passive optical network (GPON). It is commonly used to implement the link to the customer (the ''last kilometre'', or ''last mile'') of fibre-to-the-premises ( FTTP) serv ...

network was put into operation in the city. Each apartment was connected to a fiber optic network, which allows you to simultaneously use

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV), also called TV over broadband, is the service delivery of television over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Usually sold and run by a Telephone company, telecom provider, it consists of broadcast live telev ...

and

telephony Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunications services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is ...

. The network has covered fixed numbers and provides access to 235 local and international TV channels. There is a Turkmenpochta office in the city with postal code 745700.

Sports

The city's professional football club, FC Arkadag, plays in the

Ýokary Liga The Turkmenistan Higher League, also called Türkmenistan Ýokary Liga ( Turkmen: ''Ýokary liga futbol klublarynyň arasyndaky futbol boýunça Türkmenistanyň çempionaty''), is the top division of professional football in Turkmenistan, operat ...

, the top league of Turkmenistan.

Arkadag Stadium Arkadag Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Arkadag, Turkmenistan. It primarily serves as the home stadium of FK Arkadag. The stadium has a capacity of 10,000 spectators. History The stadium was constructed between December 2019 and F ...

can accommodate 10,000 spectators. The city has a

International Equestrian Sports Complex The International Equestrian Sports Complex () is the largest horse racing hippodrome in Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northe ...

, which was built in 2011 (at that time in the

of the

Ahal Region Ahal Region (; from , also ) is one of five regions of Turkmenistan, provinces of Turkmenistan. It is in the south-center of the country, bordering Iran and Afghanistan along the Kopet Dag, Kopet Dag Range. Its area is and population 886,845 (20 ...

Twin towns and sister cities

Arkadag is twinned with: *

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

(

Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...

), since 2023 *

Telavi Telavi (; ) is the main city and administrative center of the eastern Georgian province of Kakheti. As of the 2017 Census, its population was 19,751. The city is located on the foothills of the Tsiv-Gombori Range at above sea level. History Th ...

(

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...