Kyrgyzstan offers investors the Kambar-Ata HPP-1
Kyrgyzstan continues to actively search for foreign investments. On April 21, President Sadyr Japarov arrived in Bahrain on an official visit at the invitation of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to discuss prospects for bilateral cooperation. At the same time, the head of the Cabinet of Ministers, Adylbek Kasymaliyev, is holding talks in Washington with the leadership of the World Bank (WB), focusing on the Kambar-Ata HPP-1 construction project. He will tell American corporations about the investment potential in the mining industry of the republic.
Adylbek Kasymaliyev began negotiations with the World Bank leadership on the Kambar-Ata HPP-1 with the rank of First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan.
In October 2024, he held a series of meetings with the regional directors of the World Bank, following which support for the project was expressed. In particular, Charles Cormier, Regional Director for Infrastructure for Europe and Central Asia, noted that “the World Bank is ready to support Kyrgyzstan in this important project,” stressing that the Kambar-Ata HPP-1 can become a model for other countries in the region, demonstrating how water resources can be effectively used to achieve sustainable development.
In March 2025, representatives of the World Bank paid a return visit to Bishkek, during which the parties considered issues of budget support and proposals to improve the country’s investment climate. The topics of financing the Kambar-Ata HPP-1 and attracting international donors were discussed with the World Bank’s Regional Director for Central Asia, Tatyana Proskuryakova.
According to the project, Kambar-Ata HPP-1 will become the largest power plant in Kyrgyzstan, surpassing the Toktogul HPP in terms of energy production. However, the implementation of this ambitious project, which requires billions of dollars of investment and about 10 years of construction, is not an easy task.
The development of the project began in the 1980s, but was suspended in the 1990s. In 2012, Kyrgyzstan and Russia agreed on the construction of the Kambar-Ata HPP-1 and the Verkhnenarynsky cascade of HPPs. The initial cost of the project was estimated at $ 727 million, and the Russian company RusHydro planned to take over the implementation. However, the team of President Almazbek Atambayev actually buried the project due to financial disagreements.
Only in June 2022, President Sadyr Japarov launched the construction of the Kambar-Ata HPP-1. This key object of the cascade provides for the construction of a 256 m high stone dam and a hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 1,860 MW, capable of generating 5.6 billion kWh of electricity per year. The volume of the reservoir will be 5.4 billion m3 of water.
At the time of the start of construction, the estimate reached $2.916 billion. Financing was carried out from the budget, but Kyrgyzstan’s own funds were not enough. To attract investors, the project was given the status of a “project of national importance”, which provides tax incentives and preferences for interested companies.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan showed interest in the project, and after a while the World Bank joined them. Today, preparatory work for the construction of the main industrial facilities has been completed at the Kambar-Ata HPP-1 site. More than 11 km of overhead power lines have been laid, and the construction of a substation has begun. In addition, a 15-kilometer access road to the hydroelectric power station, a bridge, a work settlement and a high-strength concrete road, as well as a tunnel are being built. The first stage of approval of the feasibility study, which is being developed by a Swiss company, is being completed. “If everything goes according to plan, by the summer we will begin construction of the main dam and other infrastructure facilities,” President Japarov said recently. – Kambar-Ata HPP-1 will allow Toktogul HPP to operate in an optimal mode, providing water supply to neighboring countries in summer and fully covering Kyrgyzstan’s electricity needs in winter. This is a strategic step towards the energy independence of our country and an important element of effective management of water resources in Central Asia.”
Igor Shestakov, director of the Oi Ordo Center for Expert Initiatives, believes that the West seeks to influence the distribution of water and energy resources in Central Asia, which is why the Kambar-Ata HPP-1 project initially attracted the attention of Washington. The project received the green light under the Biden administration, but with the arrival of a more pragmatic Donald Trump, the situation has changed, although contacts between Bishkek and Washington are not interrupted. Further developments will depend on the position of the new Trump administration,” Shestakov told Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
The second decisive factor in the fate of the Kambar-Ata HPP-1 project, especially in conditions of water and energy scarcity, according to the expert, is the issue of leadership in the region. “Today, the struggle for regional leadership continues, but in a different format. If earlier the key issues on the agenda were determined by Nursultan Nazarbayev and Islam Karimov, now it is an experienced diplomat Kassym–Jomart Tokayev and creative integrator Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Their influence goes beyond Central Asia, they are recognized leaders in the post–Soviet space, well-known in the West and leading high-level negotiations. Therefore, a lot depends on who will take on the leading role in the partnership – Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan,” the expert believes.
In his opinion, the World Bank will take into account not only the position of the Trump administration, but also other stakeholders before making a decision on financing. Participation in such a large-scale project enhances the image of the World Bank, but the bank will also assess the significance of the HPP in terms of its impact on the water and energy resources of the region.
“For the West, control over these resources is a priority task, and the World Bank is one of the tools to achieve it. The water and energy issue is a matter of life, peace and good–neighborly relations between the countries of Central Asia. Water in this region is more important than gold and any rare earth metals, because the future depends on it. The examples of the Aral Sea and the shallow Caspian Sea confirm the seriousness of the problem. If the World Bank agrees to finance the Kambar-Ata HPP–1, it will be solely for the sake of the opportunity to influence the agenda of Central Asia,” Shestakov stressed.
Victoria Panfilova (Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
