Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan held technical negotiations in Istanbul, Turkey, regarding the construction of the Kambarat-1 hydropower plant on the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan, the Kazakhstan Ministry of Energy announced on October 30. The discussions were supported by the World Bank.
Kazakhstan sent Deputy Minister of Energy Yerzhan Yertaev and Deputy Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Arsen Zakanabayev to the talks. The delegations from the three countries reviewed key technical aspects of the project and discussed priority tasks for future collaboration, as well as ways to enhance water and energy management cooperation.
The Ministry of Energy stated that the plant would increase power generation capacity in Central Asia and contribute to sustainable water resource management and cooperation in the energy sector. However, it did not specify when the meeting took place or whether it was part of ongoing intergovernmental agreement negotiations among the three countries.
The Kambarat-1 plant is planned to have a capacity of 1,860 megawatts (MW). According to the World Bank, the facility will be located upstream of existing power installations on the Naryn River, including the Kambarat-2 plant and the Toktogul reservoir.
The Naryn River is a major tributary of the Syr Darya River, which flows through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan into the Aral Sea, providing irrigation water for agricultural lands in both countries. The World Bank reports that the new plant will improve local water usage conditions, reduce flood risks, and protect downstream power facilities by generating electricity during the winter months.
The energy ministries of the three countries signed an intergovernmental agreement on joint development of the plant in June 2024. In the same month, international financial institutions established a donor coordination committee to support the project, and the governments subsequently requested the World Bank to lead the financing efforts.
The World Bank allocated $18.6 million for technical assistance to help with project preparation, including feasibility studies. It estimates that the construction and operation of the plant could create up to 7,000 jobs and is considering financing support for the construction.
The three countries have held three rounds of negotiations this year regarding the draft intergovernmental agreement that will determine how the plant will be built, funded, and operated. The first round took place from March 31 to April 2 in Bishkek, the second from April 28 to 30 in Tashkent, and the third from September 21 to 23 in Almaty.
Following the Almaty negotiations, the Kazakhstan Ministry of Energy reported that progress had been made on some issues in the draft, and the remaining matters would continue to be discussed. The agreement has not yet been signed.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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