The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has arranged a financing package worth up to $69 million, or €64 million, for two district heating utilities in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek. The package will modernize heating infrastructure and reduce winter air pollution in one of the world’s most polluted cities.
The package will support Bishkekteploset (BTS) and Bishkekteploenergo (BTE), two municipal heating companies serving a city of more than one million people.
Under the agreement, the EBRD will provide sovereign-backed loans totaling up to $29.5 million, including $18.6 million for BTS and $10.9 million for BTE.
The financing will be complemented by up to $24.5 million in concessional funds from the Green Climate Fund through its Green Cities Facility, alongside investment grants totaling $11.6 million.
The EBRD will also allocate an additional $3.6 million for project implementation support and an equal opportunities action plan.
The investment will allow BTS to modernize pumping stations, including through the installation of small-scale solar photovoltaic systems. BTE will introduce large-scale district energy heat pumps, the first such installations in Central Asia. It will also upgrade boiler houses with renewable energy components.
Both companies will modernize district heating networks and install supervisory control and data acquisition systems. They will also purchase specialized service vehicles.
The projects will reduce reliance on fossil fuels and support cleaner heating solutions. They are also expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions in Bishkek.
Bishkek joined the EBRD Green Cities program in 2024 and adopted an environmental action plan that identified modernization of the city’s heating system as one of its most urgent priorities.
The Kyrgyz capital currently relies heavily on the coal-fired Bishkek Thermal Power Plant for both electricity and heating. The plant generates about 13% of Kyrgyzstan’s electricity and supplies heat and hot water to nearly two-thirds of the city.
As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, emissions from the aging power plant account for about 15% of Bishkek’s air pollution.
Air pollution remains one of Bishkek’s most pressing environmental challenges, particularly during winter, when widespread coal burning for household heating pushes pollution levels sharply higher. The city regularly ranks among the world’s ten most polluted urban centers in IQAir’s global air quality index.
