EU Pledges $1 Billion for Kambar-Ata-1 Hydropower Plant

The European Union has committed $1 billion in funding to support the construction of the Kambar-Ata-1 Hydropower Plant (HPP) in Kyrgyzstan.

The announcement came during Kyrgyz Energy Minister Taalaibek Ibraev’s visit to Brussels on October 9-10, where he took part in the Global Gateway Forum, The Caspian Post reports, citing Kyrgyz media.

Ibraev held meetings with international financial institutions and the energy ministers of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to discuss the progress of the Kambar-Ata-1 HPP project.

In this regard, the European Union (EU) agreed to allocate $2.4 billion to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan to finance the project and signed a bilateral document with the three countries.

It is noted that two of these memorandums were signed after the European Union expressed its willingness to allocate $1 billion to Kyrgyzstan.

The memorandum of understanding was signed between the Kyrgyz Ministry of Energy and the European Investment Bank on financing the Kambarata -1 HPP project signed by Taalaibek Ibraev and Andrew McDowell, Director General of the European Investment Bank. During the negotiations, they agreed the sum of financing up to $500 million.

The ceremony of signing memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) took place in the presence of EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso. The project document up to $500 million was signed by Minister Taalaibek Ibraev and EBRD Regional Director Hussein Ozhan.