Kyrgyzstan to repay foreign debt by 2035 - president

BISHKEK. Jan 22 (Interfax) - Kyrgyzstan will pay off its foreign debt by 2035, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said in an interview with the Kyrgyz news agency Kabar.

"By 2035, we will repay the debts taken earlier. We can accumulate all of our reserves and repay. Our country has enough strength for this [...]. It is not profitable to pay it off early, so we will pay on schedule. There are no risks involved," Japarov said.

The loans previously received were not used for self-sustaining projects, he said.

"The money slipped away as if into the sand. The last loans taken for the North-South alternative highway, the Datka-Kemin power transmission line, and the reconstruction of Bishkek's thermal power plant were right. We needed these projects, but they cost us twice as much. There was very poor control and embezzlement. These projects could have been completed at half the cost and the payback period would have been shorter. Now these debts have become due for repayment, and we have started to pay them off. Now we are acting in line with the 'measure seven times, cut once' principle," Japarov said.

Kyrgyzstan is ready to take a loan to build the Kambarata HPP-1, Japarov also said.

"We will receive funds soon. If the HPP is completed, it will be recouped in 12 to 13 years. After that, it, like the Toktogul HPP, will bring benefit to the state for many years. And the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railroad makes you think. The sum is very large. This project will be recouped in 35 to 40 years. But our state will become a transit state from a dead-end one. We are considering the implementation of this project in a different way, not at the expense of foreign borrowings," Japarov added.