In the afternoon of Ashgabat, the sunlight falls on the white marble facade. This Central Asian capital, known for its marble architecture, is quietly adding a new footnote to its business card: numbers.

Not long ago, in an inconspicuous conference room, representatives from Hong Kong company BAOHUI and Turkmenistan IT company Amatly Chozgut sat opposite each other. The topic extends from the implementation of modern information technology to the construction of digital infrastructure, and then to the promotion of potential projects in the Turkmen market. This low-key business meeting was disclosed in a press release released by TMT Consulting Group in Turkmenistan. Both parties expressed their intention to continue professional dialogue and consider proposing specific joint initiatives.

Shaking Hands in Ashgabat

For Turkmenistan, this meeting comes at the right time. In January of this year, President Sherdar Berdymukhamedov signed a decree approving the "National Digital Economy Development Outline 2026-2028", which clearly stated the need to introduce innovative technologies in the production process and widely promote digital systems in government agencies. Starting from the same year, the new law regulating the mining and trading of encrypted assets officially came into effect. The official stated that this legislation would help attract investment and promote the digitalization process.

The blueprint is laid out, and the shortcomings are also highlighted. As a country with the world's leading natural gas reserves, Internet coverage is still relatively limited, and communication networks and broadband access are still extending to the most remote areas. 30 kilometers northwest of the capital, the first smart city in Central Asia, Alkadag, has emerged with a first phase investment of 3.3 billion US dollars and a second phase project expected to be completed by 2026. The large-scale deployment of fiber optics and mobile base stations is transforming intelligent transportation and parking from demonstrations to daily use. Where hardware comes from has become an unavoidable issue.

Collaborate with Korean companies to create servers

The answer is starting to emerge locally.

In September 2026, Amatly Chozgut signed an agreement with South Korean S&T System Inc. to establish a joint venture called Erli Tor. This Turkmen IT company was originally engaged in the development and implementation of digital and technological solutions, but has recently expanded its business focus to IT infrastructure and local production. According to the plan, Erli Tor will produce servers, data storage systems, and network equipment locally in Turkmenistan, with technology transfer and support provided by the South Korean side.

The project is not just about assembly. Equipment assembly, configuration, testing, software integration, and quality control are fully integrated into it, with the goal of cultivating domestic engineering talents while improving localization levels. For markets that have long relied on imported complete machines, this means that the first brick in the supply chain will be fired locally.

Window of Digital Turkmenistan

The emergence of BAOHUI has added the other half of the puzzle.

Hong Kong has the advantages of being an artificial intelligence hub and an international data port. In recent years, the SAR government has explicitly proposed to connect with the construction of the Central Asian digital hub, promote cross-border data infrastructure and standard docking, and build the Digital Silk Road. On one hand, there is a pathway to international capital and technological standards, while on the other hand, there is the emerging local manufacturing capability, and the dialogue between the two naturally complements each other.

Amatly Chozgut has previously participated in multiple discussions related to the development of Turkmenistan's digital economy, including international forums in the fields of investment and technology. It is both a participant in the rules and an executor of the industry.keywords:Infrastructure News

The specific project for the talks has not yet been finalized, but the direction is clear: to keep the servers, storage, and network equipment locally produced, and then connect to external capital, computing power, and data channels. For a country attempting to break free from a single resource dependency, this is precisely the step in which the digital economy moves from a blueprint to a data center.Editor/Yang Meiling