17 Feb 2020 16:20

Some 1,000 people from Kyrgyzstan rally against construction of logistics center At-Bashi by Chinese investors - Kyrgyz Interior Affairs Department

BISHKEK. Feb 17 (Interfax) - Residents of the At-Bashi district of the Naryn region in the central part of Kyrgyzstan are protesting the construction of industrial trade and logistics center At-Bashi with the participation of Chinese investors, the press service for the region's Interior Affairs Department told Interfax on Monday.

"Some 1,000 people are taking part in the rally in the At-Bashi district. The protesters are demanding from authorities a reversal of the decree on the provision of a land parcel with a total area of 200 hectares for the construction of a logistics center," the press service said.

Locals are afraid that the land on which Chinese investors plan to build a logistics center may become the property of the Chinese in the future, the press service said.

"Speakers at the protest believe such important issues should be resolved taking into account the opinions of the local population. No violations have currently been registered; the rally is peaceful. The police are controlling the situation," the press service said.

A ceremony for laying down a capsule on the place where the industrial trade and logistics center At-Bashi, worth $280 million, is being built took place in the At-Bashi district of the Naryn region of Kyrgyzstan on December 11, 2019. The complex is expected to be built by the Kyrgyz-Chinese enterprise At-Bashi over the course of eight years, and it will become one of the largest complexes in Central Asia.