Hydropower for their own: how is the business at the HPP connected with the authorities in Kyrgyzstan
Hydropower is one of the key areas of development of the Kyrgyz economy and the main source of renewable energy in the country. It is associated with plans to achieve full energy independence and export electricity abroad. Boundaries. The authorities make a special bet on the construction of small hydroelectric power plants. According to the estimates of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, up to 88 such facilities can be built in the country, attracting investors with favorable conditions.
Against the background of increased state interest, the hydropower sector is becoming attractive for business, including for people close to the country’s top leadership. As indicated by the publications Kloop and Temirov Live, one of the examples is the activities of the family of the former Prosecutor General Kurmankul Zulushev. His brother, Ryskul Zulushev, is actively engaged in the construction of small hydroelectric power plants, the cost of which is estimated at millions of dollars.
The company, co-founded by Ryskul Zulushev, has built a small hydroelectric power station “Kainama”. Sovietbek Nazaraliev became her partner in this project. Ryskul Zulushev himself is the former head of the Osh regional Judicial Department. He has stakes in at least four companies operating in the field of hydropower. Three of them were registered after 2021, the period when Sadyr Japarov and Kamchybek Tashiev came to power in the country.
The construction of the Kainama hydroelectric power station cost $ 9.3 million. The financing came from the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund (RCDF) and the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank, while the terms of the loan were not disclosed. In 2024, President Sadyr Japarov attended the opening ceremony of the station. Now Zulushev’s companies are building three more hydroelectric power plants and are planning the construction of two additional facilities with the support of the Hungarian-Kyrgyz Development Fund.
Such a business is highly profitable. The state buys electricity from small hydropower plants at a rate of 4.42 soms per kilowatt–hour, which is one of the highest rates in the region. The average payback period of such stations is from six to eight years. After that, the cost of electricity production drops to about one som per kilowatt, and the rest of the tariff turns into a net profit for the owners.
A similar business model is observed in other people close to the authorities. For example, as reported by Kloop and Temirov Live, Azat Burkanov, the son of a friend of the president, is also actively building small hydroelectric power plants. After 2021, he has opened nine companies and has already built two stations. His partner is Nursultan Chiltenov, who is called a relative of the president’s business manager Askar Akayev and Sadyr Japarov’s matchmaker. Thus, the construction of small hydroelectric power plants in Kyrgyzstan is becoming part of a broader system where political connections provide access to profitable projects financed by soft loans and guarantee excess profits from public procurement.
Original (in Russian): Гидроэнергетика для своих: как бизнес на ГЭС связан с властью в Кыргызстане
