AKIPRESS.COM - Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on Friday opened a giant five-star hotel worth over US$100 million, shaped like a cruise ship, at the country's main Caspian Sea resort, says Channel NewsAsia.

The 13-floor, 350-room hotel is the biggest in the Turkmenistan's Avaza National Tourist Zone, which the government is trying to promote despite a restrictive visa regime for foreigners.

"The purpose of this resort is to create the best conditions for interesting recreation time for the Turkmen people," Berdymukhamedov said of Avaza, adding that the hotel was called "Gami" (Boat) to symbolize "the boat of our friendship."

"And since we are on a boat, we will be having nautical pasta – a cheap Soviet pasta dish with minced pork and beef – for lunch," he joked, before the dish was served to officials, diplomats and journalists at the ceremonial lunch.

The 90-meter by 200 meter white marble-clad hotel was built to echo a "snow-white ocean ship" a representative of the state company that ordered it built.

The hotel was built by the Turkish construction and logistics firm Ekol.