Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy - The Times Of Central Asia

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Renewable Energy

Central Asia’s Renewable Energy Boom Faces Growing Grid Challenges

Central Asia is rapidly expanding its renewable energy sector, with solar power emerging as one of the key drivers of the region’s energy transition. However, a new report by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) warns that accelerated deployment of renewable energy, without matching investment in grid infrastructure, reserve capacity, storage systems, and market reforms, could increase systemic risks and raise overall electricity costs. The warning comes as electricity demand across Central Asia continues to grow steadily. The region’s population now exceeds 80 million, and power consumption is rising by 3% to 6% annually. According to the EDB, electricity demand could increase by nearly 40% by 2030, reaching 370 billion kilowatt-hours annually, up from approximately 270 billion kilowatt-hours today. Governments across the region have announced ambitious renewable energy targets for the coming decade. Uzbekistan plans to install more than 25 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030, including solar and wind generation. Kazakhstan aims to commission 8.4 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2035, while Kyrgyzstan plans to add 3.65 gigawatts of solar capacity and 400 megawatts of wind power over the same period. Tajikistan is targeting 2 gigawatts of solar and wind generation by 2030, while Turkmenistan has announced plans for 300 megawatts of solar power capacity. Yet the region’s transition toward cleaner energy sources presents a growing challenge: electricity demand is increasing faster than power systems are adapting to accommodate large volumes of variable renewable generation. Solar energy production peaks during daylight hours, creating fluctuations that conventional power systems must manage. In the morning, before solar panels begin generating at full capacity, electricity demand is largely met by hydropower plants and thermal generation fueled by coal or natural gas. As solar output rises during the day, conventional plants must reduce generation or temporarily shut down. After sunset, when electricity consumption remains high but solar production falls to zero, conventional generators must rapidly increase output to stabilize the system. These abrupt shifts create operational challenges and increase costs for grid operators. According to the EDB’s report, Power Sector of Central Asia: Modernization and Energy Transition, the main obstacles to integrating renewable energy are technical and institutional, not simply financial. If sudden drops in solar or wind generation caused by weather changes are not immediately offset, power systems risk instability and, in extreme cases, blackouts. As renewable capacity expands, grids require more flexible generation, larger reserve margins, energy storage systems, and more sophisticated operational management tools. The report notes that renewable generation is being introduced faster than supporting infrastructure can be developed. In many countries, transmission networks were not designed to accommodate a high share of variable energy sources. Weather forecasting systems also remain insufficiently accurate to support reliable real-time balancing of renewable output. Market reforms have lagged as well. Capacity markets, reserve markets, and tariff systems in several Central Asian countries have yet to evolve in ways that encourage investment in flexible backup generation and storage technologies. As a result, the report argues, the real system-wide cost of renewable energy may...

EU Air Safety List

Kyrgyz Airlines See EU Flight Ban Lifted After Two Decades

The European Commission has removed all air carriers certified in Kyrgyzstan from the EU Air Safety List, ending restrictions first imposed in 2006. The decision opens a route back into European Union (EU) airspace for airlines certified in Kyrgyzstan. Regular flights cannot start on the delisting alone. Each airline will still need aircraft suited to European routes and approval to operate under EU rules. The change came through the EU’s 48th update to the Air Safety List. After the update, 154 airlines remain banned from EU skies. The list also identifies 16 countries where the EU says national aviation authorities lack adequate safety oversight. Airlines certified in Kyrgyzstan were added to the list in October 2006 under Commission Regulation (EC) No 1543/2006. That decision followed a European expert mission to Kyrgyzstan from September 10 to 15, 2006. The EU found that the country’s civil aviation authority lacked enough capacity to apply and enforce safety standards under the Chicago Convention. It also found that most of the carriers inspected held Kyrgyzstan-issued air operator certificates but did not have their principal place of business in the country. The 2006 decision placed all air carriers certified by Kyrgyzstan’s aviation authorities under a blanket ban. Last September, The Times of Central Asia reported that 16 carriers from Kyrgyzstan were still on the list, out of 169 banned airlines worldwide. Kyrgyzstan moved through the final stage of the EU review process over the past year. Last October, the State Civil Aviation Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic held a technical meeting with the Commission. In February, the agency submitted evidence on the revised Kyrgyz Air Code, along with new rules for airline certification and recertification. An EU assessment team visited Kyrgyzstan from March 23 to 27. It examined how the new legal framework worked in practice and reviewed the recertification of airlines. The team also checked the SCAA’s oversight of operators and visited AeroStan Air Company LLC and Avia Traffic Company. The Commission Implementing Regulation credited the agency with significant progress in applying the revised Air Code and related aviation legislation. The new legal framework gave it an acceptable basis for certification and oversight. The EU still identified weaknesses. Recurrent training and document control were not yet consistent enough, while oversight procedures needed clearer standardization. Some aircraft safety checks still require attention, including non-destructive testing at approved maintenance organizations. Kyrgyzstan reduced the number of active operators before the EU decision. Between December 2025 and February 2026, all certified air carriers went through a full reassessment. Active air operator certificates fell from 21 to eight. The SCAA said only carriers able to meet the new safety and regulatory requirements kept their certificates. The decision followed the EU Air Safety Committee meeting in Brussels from May 19 to 21. By then, Kyrgyzstan had closed 19 of 23 observations from the March assessment and seven of 12 recommendations. The remaining items were described as being at an advanced stage. The removal has renewed attention...

Tourism

Passenger Bus Service Connects Tashkent and Lake Issyk-Kul

A seasonal passenger bus service connecting Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, with Cholpon-Ata, the main resort city on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, has been launched, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport has announced. The route, operated by Uzautotrans Service using Yutong buses, opened on June 8. The service will depart from Tashkent’s main bus station on even-numbered days in June. Return trips from Issyk-Kul to Tashkent will run on odd-numbered days. Tickets cost 365,000 Uzbekistani sum, or about $30. Lake Issyk-Kul is Kyrgyzstan’s premier tourism hub and is especially popular with visitors from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia. According to data from Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce and the 2GIS mapping service, tourism activity in the Issyk-Kul region has tripled over the past six years. By the end of August 2025, which marked the close of the summer resort season, the volume of tourist services along the lake’s shores had tripled compared with 2019.

Digital Governance

How Digital Public Services Are Changing Daily Life in Central Asia

Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan have moved from queues at public service centers to passports in mobile apps in just a few years, compressing a transition that took many countries decades. Behind the impressive figures, however, are questions the region is still trying to answer. Not so long ago, obtaining a certificate in Central Asia meant a trip to a government office, a queue, and a stack of papers. Today, a resident of Almaty can renew a driver’s license by phone, an entrepreneur in Tashkent can register a company without leaving the office, and a doctor in Bishkek can issue an electronic sick leave certificate. The digitalization of public services has moved beyond strategic documents and become part of everyday life for tens of millions of people. The scale of change is reflected in international assessments. In the United Nations E-Government Development Index (EGDI) for 2024, Asia showed the fastest growth of any region. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan all improved their positions, each at its own pace, and each with its own model. Kazakhstan: From eGov to a Platform State Kazakhstan remains one of the region’s leaders in digital governance. In the 2024 EGDI ranking, the country rose to 24th place globally, ahead of a number of developed economies. Today, around 90% of more than 1,300 public services are available online, while the eGov.kz portal and eGov Mobile app offer access to a growing range of services. The figures speak for themselves. According to Kazakhstan’s e-government portal, citizens received more than 25.7 million services through eGov.kz in 2025, while the eGov Mobile audience exceeded 11.7 million users. The “Digital Documents” section is especially popular: the app provides access to 39 types of documents, from identity cards to driver’s licenses and student IDs. The expansion has continued. In 2025, Kazakhstan launched eGovBusiness, a single-window service for entrepreneurs that allows them to register companies, apply for subsidies, and check risks. The authorities have also moved to consolidate fragmented government apps into the unified eGov and Aitu platforms. The next frontier is artificial intelligence. In 2025, Kazakhstan established the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. Through the National AI Platform, the country is developing sovereign infrastructure intended to support the use of generative AI in government and keep citizens’ data within national systems. Uzbekistan: The Fastest Leap Forward If Kazakhstan sets the regional benchmark, Uzbekistan has shown some of the fastest momentum. Over six years, the country climbed 24 positions in the EGDI ranking, from 87th place in 2018 to 63rd in 2024, and entered the category of countries with a “very high” level of e-government development for the first time. At the center of this transformation is the unified portal my.gov.uz, through which citizens and businesses access public services. More than 760 services are available on the platform, while the mobile app offers more than 540. In the first half of 2025 alone, more than 16 million services were provided through the system. The direction is set by the Digital Uzbekistan 2030...

Drinking Water

$60 Million Project to Bring Clean Drinking Water to 158,000 People in Southern Kyrgyzstan

More than 158,000 residents of Kyrgyzstan’s southern Osh Region are expected to gain access to clean drinking water under a new infrastructure project backed by the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD). The project was agreed during talks between Kyrgyz authorities and EFSD representatives, according to the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry. The EFSD will provide a $60 million loan for the initiative, while the government will contribute $6.7 million in co-financing, bringing the total project cost to $66.7 million. The project will target 32 villages in the Kara-Suu and Uzgen districts of Osh Region, one of the country’s most densely populated areas. According to the ministry, only about 65% of the region’s population currently has access to safe drinking water. Approximately 158,000 residents continue to rely on aging water systems built between the 1950s and 1980s or on unsafe water sources. The project includes the construction and rehabilitation of more than 890 kilometers of water supply and distribution networks, the drilling of 33 artesian wells, the construction of 54 water reservoirs, and the installation of 11 pumping stations. Authorities say the upgrades will provide a stable and safe water supply to participating communities. The initiative also includes sanitation improvements, with 95 sanitation facilities in schools, kindergartens, and primary healthcare facilities scheduled for renovation. The project is expected to be implemented over five years, with the financing agreement due to be signed by the end of June. Access to clean drinking water remains one of Kyrgyzstan’s most pressing infrastructure challenges, particularly in rural areas. According to Bakyt Torobaev, who previously served as deputy chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and minister of water resources, agriculture, and processing industry, the country requires approximately $1.2 billion in investment to resolve drinking water supply issues in 960 villages nationwide. Government data show that of Kyrgyzstan’s 2,014 villages, only 796 currently have reliable access to clean drinking water. Water supply systems are under construction in 258 villages, while 960 communities remain without adequate service.

EBRD

Uzbekistan-Born Mansurova Named EBRD Regional Head for Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has named Nodira Mansurova as its next regional head for Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, putting her in charge of operations in three Central Asian markets where the bank has invested more than €2.5 billion combined. Mansurova will be based in Bishkek and is expected to take up the post on September 1, 2026. She will replace Ayten Rustamova, who has led the regional office since 2021. The appointment gives Mansurova oversight of one of the EBRD’s more varied regional portfolios in Central Asia. As of March 31, 2026, the bank’s cumulative investment stood at €1.177 billion in Kyrgyzstan, €1.059 billion in Tajikistan, and €327 million in Turkmenistan. The three countries present different operating environments for the bank. In Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, EBRD activity has included infrastructure, private-sector development, financial services, and energy-related projects. In Turkmenistan, the bank’s work has been more limited and has focused mainly on private businesses and financial-sector activity. Mansurova has worked for the EBRD since 2001. Born in Uzbekistan and now a British citizen, she has held roles in London and in several countries where the bank operates. Her previous posts included regional head of SME Finance and Development for Central Asia, based in Almaty, and head of the EBRD’s operations in Tunisia. Her new role comes as international financial institutions continue to focus on infrastructure, energy transition, private-sector growth, and regional connectivity in Central Asia.