Kyrgyzstan, World Bank sign $13.6 mln loan agreements for Kambarata-1 Hydropower Plant study
BISHKEK. Sept 9 (Interfax) - Kyrgyzstan will receive $13.6 million from the World Bank to update the feasibility study for the Kambarata-1 Hydropower Plant, the Kyrgyz Finance Ministry's press service said.
"A signing ceremony for loan and grant agreements for $13.6 million in financing the Kambarata-1 Hydropower Plant project took place," the ministry said.
The agreements, signed with the World Bank Group's International Development Association, state that $2.6 million will be provided as grant funding and $11 million in loan funding.
"This will finance physical modeling, surveys, site investigations and laboratory tests related to the construction," the press service said.
The feasibility study should be updated by the end of 2024 and construction should begin in the near future. The project cost is provisionally estimated at $4.5-5 billion, and capacity at 1.86 GW. The HPP will not only meet the energy needs of Central Asia but also address regional water concerns.
The project will be carried out jointly by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which will register a special company. In time, Kyrgyzstan will own 34% of the shares, and Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan 33% each. The main sources of financing for the project are the founders' own funds, as well as loans and grants from international financial institutions and commercial banks. A steering committee led by the World Bank will determine the sources of financing. The committee also includes representatives of other development institutions, in particular, the Asian Infrastructure Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the OPEC Fund and other large organizations, which, based on the updated feasibility study, will make proposals on the sources and structure of financing.
The first generating unit at the plant is scheduled to go into operation in eight years, the government said.
Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov said in February that the government had raised $1 billion for the construction of the plant. However, $4.5 billion will be needed to put the plant into operation.
