Int'l JV to hand Kambarata HPP-1 assets to Kyrgyzstan after it has been completed - draft agreement
ALMATY. April 15 (Interfax) - A joint venture between Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan that will finish building the Kambarata Hydro Power Plant-1 will hand the plant's assets to Kyrgyzstan after completion, according to a draft trilateral agreement.
The draft agreement that will be signed to implement the project has been published in the Open Online Legal Database for public discussion until April 26.
According to the document, the parties will create a joint stock company in Kyrgyzstan in accordance with the legislation of Kyrgyzstan with the following ownership structure: Kyrgyzstan - 34%, Kazakhstan - 33% and Uzbekistan - 33%.
The main sources of financing for the project will be the founders' own funds, as well as borrowed funds and grants from international financial institutions and commercial banks.
Upon completion of the project, all shares and assets of Kambarata HPP-1 will be passed into the ownership of Kyrgyzstan.
The project implementation timeline will be determined and agreed upon by the parties in separate agreements or a supplement to this agreement after the feasibility study has been updated and approved.
At the end of August 2023, Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Bakyt Torobayev said that the process of preparing for the construction of the Kambarata HPP-1 was being finalized. In particular, the construction of a highway, power substation, power transmission line, tunnels, bridges and settlements for builders was being completed. A joint venture between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan is being established at the same time.
The HPP with capacity of 1,860 MW is expected to generate 5 billion kWh of electricity per year. According to preliminary estimates, the dam will be 256 meters high and the volume of water accumulated at the hydropower plant may exceed 5 billion cubic meters.
The Kyrgyz government said that plans are in place to put the first hydropower unit of the Kambarata HPP-1 into operation in eight years.
Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Zhaparov said at the end of February 2024 the Kyrgyz government had raised $1 billion to construct Kambarata HPP-1. He said $4.5 billion was needed to put it into operation.