The name Lebap is a Turkmenized form of the PersianLab-e āb (Persian:لب آب), which means "riverside" and has long been used to designate the middle reaches of theAmu Darya.[3]
The region is located along the Amu Darya. TheKyzylkum Desert is located on the east side of the river andKarakum Desert is located on the west side of the river. About three-quarters of the region's land area is in the Karakum Desert.[5] The region's sunny weather and abundance of water resources help produce high-quality long-staple cotton.
On April 27, 2020, the region was hit by a severe windstorm.[9]RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty alleged that the storm disrupted much of the region's electrical grid, public water supplies, natural gas connections, cell service, and internet connection.[9] A local human rights website, Turkmen.news, reported that many people were admitted to the regional hospital inTürkmenabat after suffering injuries.[9] They also alleged that there was sporadic looting in the storm's aftermath and that food prices in the region rose as a result of the storm.[9] Local Turkmen media reported 10 deaths resulting from the storm, while Turkmen.news suggested that the true death toll was likely in the dozens, and dozens remained unaccounted for in the storm's aftermath.[9] The rights groupHuman Rights Watch condemned what it perceived as "censorship" by local officials following the storm, noting that one group alleged that local police were watching out for people filming the storm's damage, and another group reported that dozens of people were detained for allegedly sending videos "abroad".[10]
In December 2020, RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty reported that regional officials threatened to cut off the region's population from subsidized food if they were not up to date on their utility bills.[11] The agency reported that many in the region received seasonal income from farming, and often did not earn money in the winter, and such matters were complicated by a decrease inremittances to the region as a result of theeconomic fallout from COVID-19.[11]
As of 2021, according to the official website of the regional government, Lebap Region included one city with status equivalent to a district, 10 districts, 14 cities "in the district" (Turkmen:etrapdaky), 24towns, 105 rural councils, and 429villages.[13]
As of January 1, 2017, the region included 15 cities (Turkmen:şäherler,Russian:города), 23 towns (Turkmen:şäherçeler,Russian:посёлки), 106 rural or village councils (Turkmen:geňeşlikler,Russian:сельские советы), and 430 villages (Turkmen:obalar,Russian:сёла, orRussian:сельские населенные пункты).[15][16]
Crop production in Lebap is heavily dependent on irrigation from theAmu Darya. Fields are cultivated when one-and-a-half to two meters above the floodplains of the river, primarily cereal grains and cotton.[18]
Lebap Region: area and production of selected crops, 2017-2019[19]
Lebap is rich in various natural resources, most notably, natural gas. The region is home to theMalai Gas Field and theBagtyýarlyk Gas Field, which both serve as major suppliers of natural gas toChina.[20][21]
From antiquity, local residents quarried sulfur, zinc and lead in theKöýtendag (Kungitang) foothills for domestic needs, including casting of bullets.[22] During the Soviet period, a lead mine was dug and the town of Svintsovyy Rudnik[23] was founded.[22][24]
The Lebap Cement Plant in Turkmenabat has a design capacity of one million tons per year.Polimeks built it in 2012.[25] In 2020, construction of a second plant, inKöýtendag District, also with a design capacity of one million tons, got underway.[26][27]
The Zerger power plant under construction bySumitomo,Mitsubishi,Hitachi, andRönesans Holding inÇärjew District will have a design capacity of 432 megawatts. It is primarily intended for export of electricity. The Zerger plant will use natural gas from the Üçajy Gas Field (Russian:Учаджинскоe газодобывающеe месторождениe), delivered via a 125-km high-pressure pipeline.[28]
Lebap Region: Production of selected industrial and processed goods, 2017-2019[29]
^Skosyrev, P. (1948).Туркменистан (in Russian). Moscow: Molodaya Gvardiya. pp. 201–202.
^Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl (in Turkmen, Russian, and English). Ashgabat: State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan. 2020. p. 67.
^Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl (in Turkmen, Russian, and English). Ashgabat: State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan. 2020. pp. 44–49.
