Turkmenistan's entertainment-starved citizenry will soon be treated to the attractions of 3D cinema -- quite the change from the days of the late bonkers President Saparmurat Niyazov (aka Turkmenbashi), who had all cinemas shut down.
French construction company Vinci Construction says building work on a 3D cinema in the capital, Ashgabat, will be completed in May, according to a Trend news report.
Vinci is one many foreign companies to have benefited from Turkmenistan's government-funded building boom over the years. Trend reports that Vinci is considering a project to revamp Kurtlinskoe Lake area, a much-liked weekend relaxation spot outside Ashgabat. It is also planning designs for a water park and aquarium at the multi-billion-dollar tourism folly that is the Caspian Sea resort of Avaza.
Vinci is also involved in the project to build Ashgabat a fancy new international airport terminal.
But the 3D cinema is clearly their most fun project.
For all his laggardly attitude to improving human rights, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has clearly understood that the people need to unwind if they are not to go completely crazy.
As well as reviving the country’s cinema-going habits, Berdymukhamedov also brought back opera and circuses.
At the official inauguration of the first hotels at the Avaza complex, Berdymukhamedov was feted by a bevy of Russian and Ukrainian pop stars. In contrast, Niyazov notoriously disdained foreign entertainers, preferring traditional dance and folk music.
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