“SUSTAINABLE CITIES IN TURKMENISTAN” PROJECT RECEIVES POSITIVE RATINGS
The UNDP-GEF Project “Sustainable Cities in Turkmenistan: Integrated Green Urban Development in Ashgabat and Awaza” that took place in June 2018 – November 2024, was evaluated by an international evaluator. The lengthy report was published on the United Nations Evaluation Group website.
The report provides a detailed assessment on the design, formulation, implementation, results, targets, efficiency, and relevancy of the project. The evaluation was done through a participatory approach, by conducting interviews with government and beneficiary stakeholders, as well as review of project documents.
According to the report, the project successfully reduced energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and improved waste management, earning positive feedback. However, its main achievements – installing LED lighting and modernizing transformers – while valuable, fall short of the project’s core goal to promote integrated low-carbon urban systems in Ashgabat and Awaza. With Turkmenistan still heavily reliant on fossil fuels despite its solar potential, greater efforts are needed to adopt sustainable, renewable energy solutions.
The project was focused on reducing the environmental impact from the development of Ashgabat and Awaza and promoting low-carbon urban development in these cities. Initially, the project aimed to decrease the volume of private vehicle traffic in these cities, expand efficient street lighting, reduce waste, increase recycling, and introduce sustainable practices in the hospitality sector. The project was executed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan and UNDP Turkmenistan.
The total project funding increased from $70 million to $78 million at the time of the final evaluation, with the majority of financing provided by the Ministry of Energy ($72 million), mainly for LED street lights and transformer installations.
Initially, the project was meant to last until November 2024, but was later prolonged until April 2025. The evaluation covered only the project activities before November 2024.
The project was deemed relevant and received generally positive ratings by the evaluator:
- Monitoring and evaluation – 5/6 (“Satisfactory”) – Minor shortcomings but overall well-executed with project objectives being achieved.
- Quality of execution and implementation agency – 6/6 (“Highly Satisfactory”).
- Effectiveness, efficiency, and overall project outcome – 5/6 (“Satisfactory”).
- Sustainability (economic, socio-political, institutional, environmental) – 4/4 (“Likely”, best score) – Negligible risks to sustainability.
- Cost effectiveness – “Satisfactory” – Funds were well-spent, particularly on infrastructure upgrades and capacity building.
The evaluation concluded that the project has successfully implemented integration of low-carbon urban systems such as LED lighting and waste recycling, and achieved significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The following has been achieved:
- Emission reductions: the project surpassed its target for GHG reductions, achieving a reduction of 960 ktCO2 – 2.6 times the initial target of 366 ktCO2. Emissions were reduced through savings due to LED street lighting, transformer upgrades, and modernized cables.
- Infrastructure upgrades: more than 150,000 LED streetlights were installed in Ashgabat and 18,000 in Awaza, in addition to 1200 transformers in Ashgabat and 11 in Awaza. 396 km of electrical cables were modernized in the capital.
- Waste Management and recycling: a 10% increase in waste recycling was achieved in Ashgabat but not in Awaza.
- Hotel sector improvements: pilot hotels in Awaza reduced energy consumption per guest by 15% and water consumption by 56% (targets were 10%) and capacities for implementing low carbon and water conservation measures have somewhat improved for hotel sector personnel in the city.
- Legislative impact: the project supported the development of the law on “Renewable Energy Sources” (adopted by the parliament in March 2021) and the “Law on Energy Savings and Energy Efficiency” (adopted in April 2024).
- Capacity building: improved the capacity of the Ministry of Energy personnel in implementing low-carbon systems for the power grid and the capacity of the Municipality of Ashgabat in waste recycling. Additionally, a number of engineers were trained in renewable energy (45% of them women).
A mid-term review in August 2021 revealed major issues with the project’s faulty design. A consultant recommended changes, many of which were adopted. As a result, some activities were dropped, while new ones were added, including reviews of international best practices for hotels, drivers of green measures in other countries, and discussions with hotels.
The project aimed to implement sustainable transport solutions, but none were achieved. Plans for solar-powered EV stations in Awaza and Ashgabat were also not realized.
The evaluator provided several recommendations:
- Expand the Sustainable Cities concept to other cities in Turkmenistan with a stronger focus on water conservation;
- Accelerate low-carbon urban systems through new projects;
- Enhancing social impact by ensuring deployed technologies benefit women and vulnerable groups.
