Kyrgyzstan - The Times Of Central Asia

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Fuel Prices

Kyrgyzstan Extends Fuel Subsidies Amid Russian Supply Disruptions

Kyrgyzstan has extended subsidies for fuel importers through the end of 2026. Bishkek is trying to contain prices at the pump as problems in the Russian fuel market push traders to seek supplies elsewhere and make domestic refining more important. On August 26, the Cabinet of Ministers extended a temporary fuel subsidy scheme through December 31.Under the scheme, the state covers part of eligible importers’ fuel and transportation costs when the total exceeds a fixed threshold. The government also raised those fixed prices: from $860 to $960 per metric ton for AI-92 gasoline, from $950 to $1,050 for diesel, and from $575 to $650 for automotive liquefied petroleum gas. The change means importers must now absorb more of the cost themselves before receiving a subsidy. AI-92 is a lower-octane gasoline broadly comparable to regular fuel in the United States. AI-95, closer to the standard unleaded gasoline sold across much of Europe, was included in the original subsidy mechanism introduced in late May, but has now been removed from both the subsidy program and temporary price regulation. The extension keeps government support in place for another three months. On August 25, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Adylbek Kasymaliev said the government had allocated 956.1 million soms, or about $11.4 million, in subsidies to companies importing petroleum products. Kyrgyzstan receives more than 90% of its imported fuel from Russia, where Ukrainian drone attacks and refinery outages have reduced available supplies. Shortages have also emerged on the Russian domestic market, prompting Moscow to tighten restrictions on fuel exports, although supplies under intergovernmental agreements, including Russia’s agreement with Kyrgyzstan, are exempt. On August 25, Reuters, citing three industry sources, reported that Russia was set to extend its ban on diesel exports by producers through September as shortages persisted and several refineries remained idle following repeated Ukrainian drone attacks. Kyrgyzstan felt the effects relatively quickly. Gasoline and diesel prices rose, while some filling stations experienced shortages of AI-95 gasoline, even as the more widely used AI-92 remained available. Fuel traders have already begun buying from farther afield. China is emerging as an alternative source of supply. After talks with Sinopec, a Kyrgyz delegation met with state-owned CNPC on August 19. The discussions focused on procedures for supplying petroleum products to Kyrgyzstan through CNPC-affiliated Kunlun Logistics. Following the talks, Kyrgyz companies signed contracts with CNPC for petroleum product supplies, although volumes, prices, and delivery schedules were not publicly disclosed. The fuel squeeze has also made an existing effort to refine more oil domestically more important. The modernization of the Junda refinery is not a new response to the current shortages: the $193.75 million project was already underway earlier this year and had previously been scheduled for completion by July 31. On August 25, the National Investment Agency signed an additional agreement with Central Asia Energy Company allowing the next stage of modernization of the Junda refinery in Kara-Balta, the country’s largest, to begin. The latest announcement did not give a new completion date. The project...

SCO Summit

Xi Jinping Heads to Bishkek as Kyrgyzstan Prepares to Host 21 Heads of State

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek and make a state visit to Kyrgyzstan, Beijing has confirmed. The trip, which also includes a state visit to Egypt, will run from August 30 to September 3. The formal meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State is scheduled for September 1. As many as 21 heads of state are expected in Kyrgyzstan during the week, according to presidential spokesman Askat Alagozov. Xi had long been expected to be among the leaders traveling to the Kyrgyz capital, but the formal confirmation turns attention from the guest list to the business that may be conducted around the main session. For Kyrgyzstan, the most consequential part of the visit may come in Xi's talks with President Sadyr Japarov rather than in the summit hall. The Times of Central Asia will be reporting from Bishkek as the delegations arrive, and from the opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games on August 31. Several visiting heads of state are expected to attend the ceremony, which will bring summit diplomacy and Kyrgyzstan’s biggest cultural showcase together on the eve of the SCO meeting. Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has already confirmed that he will be there. The spectacle will be considerable, but the substance is likely to emerge in the bilateral meetings, signed agreements, and final documents released around the September 1 summit. The State Visit and the Railway The state visit format gives Xi and Japarov a bilateral program alongside the summit. The most prominent economic issue is likely to be the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, a project discussed for decades that is now under construction across some of Kyrgyzstan's most difficult terrain. The Kyrgyz authorities put the railway’s construction cost at about $4.7 billion. China holds 51% of China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Company LLC, while Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan each hold 24.5%. Roughly half of the cost is being financed through a 35-year Chinese loan to the company. The summit could bring clearer evidence of how quickly construction is progressing. Any new financing, contracts, or cross-border arrangements would be more significant than another general statement of political support. The railway also places Kyrgyzstan inside a larger shift in regional trade. Commerce between China and the five Central Asian states passed $100 billion in 2025. Bishkek wants a larger share of that traffic and more of the value created along transit routes. Xi's visit offers Japarov an opportunity to press the case for logistics hubs, local employment and supporting roads rather than transit alone. The Documents Behind the Ceremony The SCO's national coordinators have been finalizing the outcome documents in the weeks leading up to the summit. Under Kyrgyzstan’s chairmanship, the SCO has emphasized regional stability and economic cooperation, alongside digital transformation, cyber threats, environmental policy, and cultural exchange. SCO decisions require consensus, which tends to soften disagreements in final communiqués. Any agreements that specify funding, deadlines, or responsibility would give the Bishkek package more weight. Bilateral Meetings Around the Summit The summit will bring...

Oil Refinery

Kyrgyzstan Advances Junda Refinery Modernization Amid Fuel Supply Strain

Kyrgyzstan’s largest oil refinery, Junda in Kara-Balta, is moving to the next stage of a modernization project worth nearly $194 million. The project has taken on added significance amid problems with fuel supplies from Russia, on which Kyrgyzstan remains heavily dependent. On August 25, Ravshanbek Sabirov, head of the National Investment Agency, signed an additional agreement with China’s Central Asia Energy Company. The document allows the next stage of the Junda modernization project to begin. Once upgraded, the refinery is expected to increase petroleum output and produce fuel meeting Euro 5 standards. The official announcement confirms the start of the new phase but does not specify its individual cost. Junda, also known as Zhongda, is located in Kara-Balta, about 60 kilometers west of Bishkek. The refinery is operated by the Kyrgyzstan-registered China Petrol Company Junda, which is 99% owned by China’s Central Asia Energy Company. The remaining 1% is held by Kyrgyzstan-registered Dade Service Company. The refinery, with an annual crude-processing capacity of 800,000 tons, began operating in 2014. Production halted in early 2020, and the plant remained idle for about four years. Before the shutdown, residents of Kara-Balta had repeatedly complained about air pollution and unpleasant odors from the facility. The shutdown lasted about four years, with production resuming in 2024. A new modernization program followed. A 2024 investment agreement initially put the cost of repairs and modernization at $160 million, while the company later cited an investment of more than $167 million. An additional agreement subsequently raised the project figure to $193.75 million. The refinery’s stated processing capacity remains 800,000 tons per year. The project’s timeline, however, remains unclear. An earlier supplementary agreement called for the modernization to be completed by July 31, 2026. That deadline has already passed, yet on August 25 the parties signed another agreement allowing the next phase to begin. The National Investment Agency has not explained whether the original deadline has formally been extended. President Sadyr Japarov has previously given a different target – 2028. He also said the Chinese side had allocated about $500 million for Junda, substantially more than the $193.75 million cited in the investment agreement. It is unclear whether the two figures refer to different stages or scopes of work. Japarov has also spoken about modernizing another refinery, Kyrgyz Petroleum Company in Manas, the city formerly known as Jalal-Abad. For Kyrgyzstan, the issue is not only fuel quality. Deputy Energy Minister Nasipbek Kerimov said in July that Kyrgyzstan consumes around 2 million tons of fuel and lubricants annually and that almost 95% has traditionally come from Russia. More recent government figures put average annual demand at more than 1.5 million tons, while Japarov has said Russia currently accounts for about 90% of consumption. That dependence has become particularly visible this summer. Disruptions at Russian refineries and reduced volumes available for export have pushed prices higher. Ukrainian drone strikes, refinery outages, and strong domestic demand have contributed to fuel shortages in Russia and restrictions on exports to some markets. Rising fuel...

Artificial Intelligence

Kyrgyzstan’s NineNineSix Takes On Global AI Voice Market

In February, Kani TTS 2, a text-to-speech (TTS) model developed by Kyrgyzstani startup NineNineSix, ranked among Hugging Face’s top three trending TTS models, according to Kyrgyzstan’s High Technology Park. Hugging Face is sometimes described as the “GitHub for AI.” At $5 per million characters, NineNineSix’s listed price is lower than several paid TTS offerings from ElevenLabs and OpenAI, while Google’s range includes both cheaper and more expensive models. The company illustrates how rapid advances in AI are creating opportunities for entrepreneurs from Central Asia. NineNineSix, whose name refers to the Kyrgyz Republic’s international calling code, +996, grew out of a problem its founders encountered when using third-party pre-trained models at their previous startup. Using its own data, the team fine-tuned those models but remained dissatisfied with the results. Those models sounded robotic and were too resource-intensive and slow, creating a bottleneck. The team concluded that building its own model was the only way to achieve the quality it needed. [caption id="attachment_54711" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Founders Ulan Abdurazakov, Nursultan Bakashov and Denis Pavlov[/caption] Not the First Try NineNineSix co-founder Nursultan Bakashov tells The Times of Central Asia: “Building our own models felt like the natural next chapter of the story we’d already started writing. In the age of AI, the only real choice is to do AI.” Bakashov founded the company in 2025 with Ulan Abdurazakov and Denis Pavlov. He and Abdurazakov had previously worked together, co-founding Makers Bootcamp with a third partner in 2019 to train people for careers in technology. Three years later, they left Makers Bootcamp to focus on AI. They became active in the Kyrgyz Republic’s AI community, organizing events and training for several years. The community now has more than 1,800 members. Their work there led to The Cramer Project, which they launched with Timur Turatali, formerly of EY and Citibank, and Pavlov, who had moved from Russia to the Kyrgyz Republic. The company developed AkylAI, which it describes as Kyrgyzstan’s first AI-powered smart speaker. The name refers to Akylai, a common female name in Kyrgyz; the element “ai” means “moon” and often appears in Kyrgyz names. In October 2023, AkylAI was named a winner in the Unicorn from KG program, run by the High Technology Park of the Kyrgyz Republic. It also took part in Draper University’s Hero Training incubation program in Silicon Valley. The following year, AkylAI was selected for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s first Star Venture cohort in the Kyrgyz Republic. It was also presented at KIT Forum 2024, Bishkek’s flagship annual technology event. That year, The Cramer Project also tested CorePod, a smart speaker designed to support mental health and sleep. CorePod was intended as a global product, beginning with the United States market. The team says the company became the first Kyrgyzstani startup admitted to the LAUNCH incubator in May 2024. CorePod was later pitched to Jason Calacanis, a Silicon Valley angel investor, and featured on his This Week in Startups podcast. An upgraded version of AkylAI was presented...

Power Grid

August 14 Blackout: Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Continue to Dispute Its Cause

The blame game over Central Asia’s August 14 blackout continues. Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov says the large-scale blackout began with the shutdown of two generating units at the Toktogul Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) in Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek does not dispute that the failure occurred but rejects the claim that it was the direct cause of the subsequent outages across several countries. Akkenzhenov identified the events in Kyrgyzstan as the starting point of the emergency. According to him, the initial disturbance occurred on August 14 at 2:37 p.m. Kazakhstan time, or 3:37 p.m. in Kyrgyzstan, when generating units No. 1 and No. 2 at the Toktogul HPP went offline. The loss of generation altered operating conditions in Central Asia’s interconnected power system and led to a redistribution of power flows in southern Kazakhstan. A government commission in Kazakhstan is expected to make the final determination. Kazakhstan’s grid operator KEGOC had earlier provided a more detailed chronology. At 2:37 p.m., three 500 kV transmission lines tripped, separating southern Kazakhstan and the Central Asian grid from the rest of Kazakhstan’s power system. About 2,810 MW of consumer load was temporarily cut off. KEGOC later said that immediately beforehand, two generating units at the Toktogul HPP, with a combined capacity of about 600 MW, had gone offline. The resulting changes in power flows overloaded Kazakhstan’s North–East–South transmission corridor, triggering emergency protection systems. Akkenzhenov said the protection systems had worked effectively and praised KEGOC’s response. Kazakhstan’s power system was restored in approximately 2.5 hours. Kyrgyzstan acknowledges that the two units went offline. The country’s Energy Ministry described the incident as the “initial disturbance” in the interconnected power system, but stressed that the first event in an emergency sequence cannot automatically be considered the cause of all subsequent outages. According to its account, by 3:55 p.m. Kyrgyzstan time — 2:55 p.m. in Kazakhstan — the frequency in the interconnected power system had returned to the normal 50 Hz. At that point, Kyrgyzstan was also supplying neighboring power systems with about 250 MW. Bishkek maintains that the outage affecting the Almaty power hub occurred after normal frequency had already been restored. Kyrgyz energy officials therefore consider it premature to directly attribute all subsequent events to the failure at the Toktogul HPP. The disagreement, therefore, is less about what happened first than about the causal link between the initial failure and the chain of outages that followed. Why the Regional Grid Is Vulnerable The vulnerability is rooted in the architecture of the region’s power system itself. During the Soviet period, its power plants and high-voltage transmission lines were designed to operate as a single interconnected system rather than around today’s national borders. Energy ties weakened after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but in recent years the countries have again expanded parallel operation of their power systems. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan are connected through the Integrated Power System of Central Asia. Cross-border power flows are coordinated by the Energia Coordinating Dispatch Center in Tashkent. Hydropower in Kyrgyzstan and...

Podcast

Pannier and Hillard’s Spotlight on Central Asia: New Episode Out Now

As Managing Editor of The Times of Central Asia, I’m delighted that, in partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, we are the home of the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast. Chaired by seasoned broadcasters Bruce Pannier of RFE/RL’s long-running Majlis podcast and Michael Hillard of The Red Line, each fortnightly instalment will take you on a deep dive into the latest news, developments, security issues, and social trends across an increasingly pivotal region. This week, the team is covering one of Central Asia's leaders openly calling on Vladimir Putin to bring the war in Ukraine to an end, Russia moving to tear up a number of its military agreements with two Central Asian states, upcoming elections in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, a deepening crackdown on opposition media and journalists in Kazakhstan, and a growing wave of fighting in northern Afghanistan that is already beginning to spill across the border into neighbouring Tajikistan. Before turning to our main story this week, where we look back at the decade since Islam Karimov's death and Shavkat Mirziyoyev's rise to power, and ask just how much Uzbekistan has changed over the ten years since. Special guest: Central Asia journalist and author of Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan, Joanna Lillis.