Battle to meet energy needs for residents and industry in Mongolia
Despite a wealth of mineral resources, poor infrastructure is stunting Mongolia's quest to become an economic powerhouse in the region
T. Nasan-Ish, 50, has just returned from a community meeting in Khanbogd in Mongolia's south Gobi desert. "We have exciting news", he says. "We're expecting to get unlimited electricity in the coming 40 days".
Nasan-Ish, a local retailer, has reason to be excited. A small, impoverished town, Khanbogd's citizens are used to daily blackouts - despite big international mining projects in the region.
"Blackouts usually start at 5pm for one or two hours, but during the daytime we mostly have power," he says.
The locals don't have access to the country's central heating system, instead using traditional coal-fired stoves to stay warm in the winter months - which can see temperatures drop as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius.
Mongolia, also known as "mine-golia" because of its vast untapped mineral wealth, is undergoing rapid growth. The Central Asian country's rich mineral resources including coal, gold, copper and rare earths is transforming the traditionally nomadic country into an economic powerhouse - last year, Mongolia's GDP growth was a staggering 17.2 per cent.
But the country's infrastructure is poor, including basic energy requirements to fuel the country's development.