Kydyraliev reminded that back in the sixth convocation, Kyrgyzstan borrowed between 500 to 600 million dollars from the World Bank for the needs of the Toktogul Hydroelectric Power Station. According to him, 80% of the water goes to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which creates a financial burden on the republic without any economic benefit from maintaining the hydropower station. “Why don’t the neighbors, who use our water, compensate for part of the economic losses?” he asked a reasonable question.
The deputy also provided examples from other countries: “There is a practice in the world where water is paid for. For example, the USA pays for the water it takes from Canada, and Germany does the same with Sweden. Why don’t our neighbors pay for our water?”
In response to this statement, Bakyt Torobaev, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Processing Industry, noted that he is ready to provide additional information but emphasized that the World Bank loan was aimed at optimizing the operation of the hydropower station, which allowed increasing its capacity from 1200 to 1440 megawatts.
Torobaev also mentioned that Uzbekistan fully pays for the maintenance of reservoirs in Ala-Buka. “When repairs are needed, the neighbors fulfill their obligations, as they understand that they are using shared resources. The president has already given instructions for the repair of the reservoirs, and Kyrgyzstan will handle this independently. If the neighbors want to help, we welcome that,” he added.
