Kyrgyzstan offers Kambaratinskaya HPP-1 to investors

Kyrgyzstan continues to actively seek foreign investment. On April 21, President Sadir 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 Kasymaliev, is holding talks in Washington with the leadership of the World Bank (WB), focusing on the Kambarata HPP-1 construction project. He will tell American corporations about the investment potential in the mining industry of the republic.

Adylbek Kasymaliev began negotiations with the World Bank leadership on Kambarata 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 Kambaratinskaya 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 discussed issues of budget support and proposals to improve the country’s investment climate. Tatiana Proskuryakova, the World Bank’s Regional Director for Central Asia, discussed the financing of the Kambaratinskaya HPP-1 and the involvement of international donors.

Kambaratinskaya HPP-1, according to the project, 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 Kambaratinskaya HPP-1 and the Verkhnenarynsky cascade HPP. 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.

It was only in June 2022 that President Sadyr Japarov launched the construction of the Kambaratinskaya HPP-1. This key cascade facility provides for the construction of a 256 m high stone embankment 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 amount to 5.4 billion m3 of water.

At the time of construction, the estimate reached $2.916 billion. The financing was provided from the budget, but Kyrgyzstan’s own funds were insufficient. To attract investors, the project was given the status of a “project of national importance”, which provides tax benefits and preferences for interested companies.

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan showed interest in the project, and after a while the World Bank joined them. Preparatory work for the construction of major industrial facilities has been completed at the Kambaratinskaya HPP-1 site today. More than 11 km of overhead power transmission lines have been laid, and 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 reinforced concrete road, as well as a tunnel, are under construction. 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, we will begin construction of the main dam and other infrastructure facilities by the summer,” President Japarov said recently. – Kambaratinskaya 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 our country’s energy independence and an important element of effective water resources management in Central Asia.”

Igor Shestakov, director of the Oh Ordo Center for Expert Initiatives, believes that the West is seeking to influence the distribution of water and energy resources in Central Asia, which is why the Kambaratinskaya HPP-1 project initially attracted Washington’s attention. 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 have not been interrupted. Further developments will depend on the position of the new Trump administration,” Shestakov told NG.

According to the expert, the issue of leadership in the region is the second crucial factor in the fate of the Kambaratinskaya HPP-1 project, especially in conditions of water and energy shortages. “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 the 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 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 importance of the HPP in terms of its impact on the region’s water and energy resources.

“For the West, control over these resources is a priority task, and the World Bank serves as 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, as 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 Kambarata HPP-1, it will be solely for the sake of the opportunity to influence the agenda of Central Asia,” Shestakov stressed.