Kaktus.media conducted an analysis of credit and grant agreements signed since the beginning of the year and identified the main donors willing to allocate funds to the republic.
Areas Funded by Loans
Despite significant economic growth and high budget revenues, Kyrgyzstan continues to turn to international donors for financing various projects. The main funds are directed towards projects in areas such as energy, education, and business support.Here is a list of key organizations and projects for which loans have been provided to the republic:
- a loan of 9 million dollars for repaying debts to contractors for the CASA-1000 project;
- a loan from the Islamic Development Bank / Islamic Solidarity Fund for inclusive education;
- a loan from the Islamic Development Bank for the construction of two substations in the Issyk-Kul region;
- an additional loan from the Islamic Development Bank for modernizing the education system and developing inclusive education;
- modernization of the "Sulaiman-Too" museum complex funded by a loan from the World Bank;
- the Asian Development Bank is providing a loan for improving the water supply system in the Naryn region;
- the World Bank approved 121 million dollars for the first phase of the "Universal Access to Water Supply and Sanitation" program;
- allocation of 120 million dollars for a project aimed at developing a sustainable financial market for micro, small, and medium enterprises;
- the Asian Development Bank will provide 147.2 million dollars for investment projects;
- the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is allocating funds for the modernization of two substations;
- an additional loan from the World Bank for updating the feasibility study for the construction of the Kambar-Ata HPP-1;
- the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Union allocated 15.23 million euros for the reconstruction and automation of the Western Big Chui Canal section;
- South Korea will provide 500 million dollars for the implementation of socio-economic projects;
- the World Bank is providing a loan for the National Community Initiative Project.
Grants for Projects
It should be noted that almost every loan agreement includes a grant component, meaning funds that do not need to be repaid. The full volume of information on grants is often not disclosed; however, we have gathered available data.Here is a list of key organizations and projects for which grants have been approved for the republic:
- Switzerland is allocating over 2.7 million dollars to Kyrgyzstan for reforms in water resource management.
- Qatar is providing a grant of 9.2 million dollars for the construction of an additional building for the clinical hospital in Bishkek.
- Grants from the Global Partnership for Education and the Islamic Development Bank for inclusive education.
- The Asian Development Bank is providing a grant for the development of rural water supply and sanitation in the Naryn region.
- The Asian Development Bank will allocate nearly 75 million dollars as grant funding for investment projects in the republic.
- The World Bank has allocated an additional grant for updating the feasibility study for the construction of the Kambar-Ata HPP-1.
- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Union allocated 8.6 million euros for financing the reconstruction and automation of the Western Big Chui Canal section.
- The World Bank is providing a grant for the implementation of the National Community Initiative Project.
Main Donors
Since the beginning of the year, Kyrgyzstan has signed agreements for loans and grants totaling 1.2 billion dollars. Of this, 1 billion 93.8 million dollars are loans, while 12.2 million dollars are grants. The largest assistance is expected from South Korea, which plans to invest 500 million dollars in various projects over the next four years.During the first 18 years of independence, Kyrgyzstan was quite cautious regarding external borrowing. From 1992 to 2009, agreements were signed for a total of 3 billion 69.6 million dollars, while from 2010 to 2023, this volume doubled to 6 billion 210 million dollars.
