DETAILS ON THE TURKMENSKI CANAL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00926A003400030002-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 25, 2012
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: April 23, 1951
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00926AO03400030002-1
CLASSIFICATION CQNFIDENTIAI/US CFFICIALS ONLY
CENTRAL INTELLIGENGE.,.AGENCY REPOR
INFORMATION. REPORT CD NO. 50X1-HUM
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT
Details on the T r nenski Canal
PLACE
NO. OF ENCLS.
ACQUIRED
(LISTED BELOW)
DATE
SUPPLEMENT TO 50X1-HUM
ACQUIRE
REPORT NO.
DATE OF
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE U TED STATES WITHIN AMENDED. THE ITS MEANING THE ESPIONAGE ACT sD
U. 5. C.? 31 AND 32, AS AS MANE TRANSMISSION OR THE
OF ITS CO ONTENTS IN ANY Y MANNER TO ITS AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON PERREV REVELATION IS PRO?
HIBITED BY LAW. REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
50X1-HUN
canal
route ong the prehistoric course of the Amu Darya River to t Caspian Sea. This
old course runs in a southwesterly d.i ?e~ +~icn from. the present river. At that time.,
the project was named the K111 raKum4ci (Black Sands) Canal. Dui ng the next ten or
,fifteen years, the idea erasexpanded into a project for a great canal. system through
the tJ$SR s Qentral Asian Rep ibl_ias (Turf en,, U2Lek, and Tadzhik), which wr>uld complete
the water transportation route from...Mos .c t to the borders of India. The overall pro-
ect canes to be called. the Turknenski Canal.
ic es
and books appeared on the new canal, which reported preparations for its cone-+4 --
occurred in 1949. Actual work began. in. 1950. 50X1-HUM
50X1-HUM
over the country will be utilized to supexvi.se the work. it will take
a minimum of 10 years to complete the canal, providing that from , to 300,000
laborers are used. the climate in the area, and as a result 3f its severity
The Turkmenski Canal is one of the main nstruct,icfn projects at present in the USSR.
In size, it is as large as the Stalin White lea.-Baltic Canal. From the viewpoint of
earthworks secured, it will be even largero Workers (both free and slave) from. all
over the USSR will be used. Following stardar.?d Soir .et. practise, i entration camps
will probably be set up along ,the route to provide slave labor. Tec; 'c'ns from all
many workers will die on the project. There are no rains from May to
goes up to 46 Centigrade. The human body dries out from the heat and the sand is
too hot to touch. In winter, the region is cold -m temperatures go down to-.c? n~?
-20? Centigrade -m and windy. 50X1-HUM
50X1-HUM
-5e a er Temperature in the sun reaches 76? Centigrade, while in the shade it
pb
CLASSIFICATION CoNFID rIA/ S CFFICIJLS QNyy
STATE
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00926A003400030002-1
DATE DISTR. 23 Apr 1951
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00926AO03400030002-1
CONFIDZNTIAIa/US OFFICIAIS ONLY
4. The Turkmenski Canal will begin at Kr.?asnovodski Zaliv, run in a. angle channel
built for both transport and irrigation in an easterly direction to the ancient
junction of the now dry Uzboi and Unguz Rivers. The canal will divide at this
location. One branch will run north along the dry Uzboi River to Kunya t rge ch
near the Amu Darya River, which flows into the Aral Sea. This brans h will be p;,_
narily an -irrigation canal, although it mill also be used for trams Tb? southern
brand will roughly follow the old course of the dry Unguu OM t +
Amu Dam. fiver. That part of the canal , then, which fans u '. o 'Max
as 40 kilometers south of Chard?,hui.
aar aka mast;
The Amu Darya River at Chiardzhu? passes through sands, is shallow and shifting,
although _it is from one to ]4 kilometers wide at this point. The river there takes
only vessels of 50 to 75 m enttimeter displacement. The canal, therefore, mill have
to be built parallel to the river, about 20 to 25 kilometers south of it. The canal
will be used for both irrigation and transportation and will run southeast to Kalif
on the Afghanistan border. This stretch on the river was called Kelifski Zbros
(rapids). A canal. branch uaill, extend from the Amu Darya to Bukhara, thereby making
the Zaravshan River suitable for transport.
Running due west from Kela_.f is an old dry river route to Merv. The gab River flaws
north from Afghanistan to Men,, where it ends in the desert. , A braof the, new'
canal system will connect Kalif with the Mur. ab River at Merv. e canal will end at
Kalif, where the desert, in general, stops. The Amu Darya therea4er assumes the
character of a mountaiLn river, especially after Terrriez.
7. It is planned to build four dams at Termez in order to provide electricity and to
regulate the flow of the river. The.dams are expected to provide a total of approx-
imately 150,000 KW. The dams will also serve to improve the transport possibilities
of the Amu Darya. _ The river's name, incidentally, changes to Pyandzh, and it begins
in-the Pamir Plateau, which has an average elevation of about 3500 meters. The
river's transport potentialities end about 100 kilometers east of Stalinabad.
8. The priority of construction will be to build first the stretch from Krasnovodski
Zaliv to Kunya Urgench, as it will., by means of irrigation, greatly increase the
cotton crop in that area. The second step will be to construct the branch southerly
beyond the junction of the dry Uzboi and Ungus Rivers. Priority will also be given
to the link between Kelif and Mc r ?, as this is a very good cotton region. '
There were three .main reasons for building the Turkmensld Canal:
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a) Economic -- The irrigation benefits derived from the canal will double the
cotton production of the Soviet Central Asian Republics. In 1943
the Turk nen Uzbek, and Tadzhik_SSRs produced 3,000,000 tons o 50X1-HUM
raw cotton yearly. This will permit the USSR to better meet the great de-
mand for textiles of, its civilian economy, its armed forces, and its satel-
lite countries. It may also be able to throw large quantities of cotton on
the world market; .
Transportation -- The canal network will improve the facilities available
for moving cotton.. The few railroads in that area were "overloaded," with
cotton. The Central-Asian transportation network would be improved--in
general and the canal route would be safer, in event of hostilities, than
the railroad bordering Iran; aud.
Political Prestige - The reputation of the USSR would be enhanced in such
strategic countries as. Afghanistan, India, and China, by its ability to
carry out a construction project of such scope.
CONFIDE TTIAL/TOYS f FICIAJ$ ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00926AO03400030002-1