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Kumtor Gold Boosts Kyrgyzstan Economy

On May 7, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic Akylbek Japarov inspected the Kumtor gold mine in the permafrost zone of the Issyk-Kul region. Sitting 4,000 meters above sea level, the mine serves one of the world’s ten largest gold deposits and prior to being nationalized in 2021, was owned by Canadian company, Centerra Gold. The mine now has over 3,000 employees, 99.9% of whom are local specialists, and more than 800 specialist vehicles, machinery and equipment to ensure uninterrupted production. With reference to the significant developments to the site since nationalisation, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the state’s role in maintaining its efficient operation. Last year, the mine generated 17.2 billion soms (over $194 million) in taxes and social payments - equivalent to roughly one-third of Kyrgyzstan’s state budget. Japarov also inspected Kumtor’s underground gold mining project, which launched in February, will enable the further extraction of about 115 tons of gold. At Kumtor’s open-pit mine, it currently takes one ton of processed ore and over 40 tons of extracted waste rock to produce 5-7 grams of gold. Underground mining has the potential to double that yield with less damage to the environment than its open-pit equivalent. Further to the prime minister’s visit, it was reported that from 2026, mining will begin on ore waste stored at the Kumtor mine tailings and according to estimates, will produce an additional 120 tons of gold. In 2023, the Kumtor mine produced 13,567 tons of gold, with a total revenue of $848 million, and net profit of $302.5 million.

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Victory Day Payments for WWII Veterans in Former Soviet Republics

To mark the 79th anniversary of the Second World War Victory, celebrated in former Soviet republics on 9 May, Kazakhstan's 50,100 WWII veterans and contributors each received at least 1.5 million tenge ($3,500). According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population, Victory Day awards differed from region to region. Qualified residents in Akmola received 3 million tenge, in Aktobe, over 2 million tenge, and in Abay, Almaty, Karaganda, and Pavlodar as well as the cities of Astana and Almaty, 2 million tenge. Records of 1 May, show that 148 WW2 veterans currently reside in Kazakhstan. The country is also home to 50,012 others who played important roles in winning the war, including 70 residents of besieged Leningrad; 149 prisoners of German concentration camps; 2,314 spouses of those killed and disabled in battle ; 2 widows of soldiers who died or went missing, and 47,477 people who manned the home front. During WWII, over 1.2 million Kazakhs were called to the Soviet-German front. Fighting in over 20 infantry divisions, fifty percent died or went missing in combat. In Kyrgyzstan, 41 surviving war veterans will each receive 100 thousand soms (almost $1,130) from the President’s Fund. In Russia, veterans will receive a single federal payment of 10 thousand rubles (about $109), and those based in Moscow, an additional 10 -25 thousand rubles. Victory Day payments to veterans in Belarus are around $1,226 per head, and in Azerbaijan, $1,200.

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World Bank Boosts Kyrgyzstan’s Agricultural Productivity and Climate Resilience

The World Bank has announced funding of $30 million to help boost the productivity and climate resilience of Kyrgyzstan’s dairy and horticulture agri-food clusters. The project will be complemented by a $5 million grant from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. “Recognizing agriculture as a cornerstone of the Kyrgyz Republic's economy, the World Bank prioritizes the sector alongside energy and water in its new 2024-2028 Country Partnership Framework. The new project marks the beginning of a series of initiatives designed to support the Cabinet of Ministers' vision for a modernized, competitive, and climate-resilient agricultural sector," reported Tatiana Proskuryakova, World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia. Running until 2029, the initiative will help producers, processors, and other value chain participants to improve the quality and volume of their produce, access to markets through investment loans, training and capacity building, seed system enhancement, breeding, and information management. It will also focus on enhancing climate adaptation and mitigation through the promotion of climate-smart technologies as well as the employment of digital technology for accessing market information. The project will directly support 8,000 beneficiaries including individual farmers and producers, producer groups, small and medium processors, and other value chain participants in the agri-food clusters of dairy and horticulture. Indirect beneficiaries, numbering 20,000, will comprise farming communities and households of loan and training recipients, in addition to members of broader rural communities who will be afforded better jobs and opportunities to generate income.

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US Helps Kyrgyzstan Prepare for Future Pandemics

A Global Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness Program was launched last week. The joint initiative between the United States, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, and a consortium of other organizations, aims to improve Kyrgyzstan’s resilience against public health emergencies and coordinates with the United Nation’s ‘One Health’ policy linking human, animal, and environmental health. As reported by the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek, the program will target seven key areas in Kyrgyzstan: tracking and reducing antimicrobial resistance; monitoring zoonotic diseases transmissible between animals and humans; strengthening national laboratory systems; disease surveillance; building capacity within the healthcare workforce; developing risk communication and community engagement strategies; and bolstering health emergency management. U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic Lesslie Viguerie stated, “The United States Government ranks global health security among its top five priorities. Today’s event marks the next chapter in our long collaboration for improving Kyrgyz health care. We worked side-by-side during the COVID-19 pandemic and continued to do so in the pandemic recovery phase. We have made tremendous advancements in detecting and treating tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Many lives have been saved thanks to the collaborative efforts between our governments. With the timely launch of the National Action Plan for Health Security last year, the Kyrgyz Republic is taking a lead role to prepare its health systems for any future pandemics.” The Deputy Minister of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic Bubuzhan Arykbaeva further endorsed the initiative saying, “We are confident that with USAID funding this program will play a critical role in supporting key technical areas of the National Action Plan for Health Security. The implementation of the Global Health Security program in the Kyrgyz Republic will allow our country to create a more stable foundation for future response to threats in the field of public health.”

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Bishkek Heating Plant To Be Modernized After Breakdown

The Bishkek thermal power plant has been ordered to completely modernize, after a blast at the aging heat and electricity generating facility left parts of the city without hot water and heating. Three people were seriously injured in an explosion at the plant early on February 2nd. The breakdown forced authorities to declare hot water and heating restrictions in some parts of the city as the plant’s staff worked to repair the damage. Kyrgyzstan’s president Sadyr Japarov visited the plant as work was being done to get the facility back online. In an interview to the Kabar news agency, Mr Japarov said he has given instructions to completely modernize the thermal power plant. “This will require a lot of money, but there is no other way out. We will have to find it [money],” the president said, mentioning that the thermal power plant was launched back in 1961 and its equipment is very outdated. “Despite this, we continue to operate it, repairing it every summer to get through the heating season.” The last major accident at the Bishkek thermal power plant occurred in January 2018. At the time the plant’s breakdown left the city without heating for three days amid freezing air temperatures. Work to modernize the plant commenced in 2014, following a 2013 loan agreement between China’s Export-Import Bank and the Kyrgyz government. China’s Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock Co. Ltd. (TBEA) was granted the contract and modernized the plant for $386 million. Today’s accident occurred in the old part of the power plant that was not modernized. In the interview, Mr Japarov said that instead of partially reconstructing the power plant, it was necessary to completely renovate it or build a new facility.

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Mazhilis Expanding Network of Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles

A draft law aimed at creating the necessary infrastructure for electric vehicles in Kazakhstan was presented at the meeting of the Mazhilis. Deputy Samat Musabayev noted that in 2022 a new world record for electric vehicles was set, with sales reaching over 7.8 million units. Forecasts also point to significant growth in sales of electric cars and hybrid vehicles worldwide in 2023, with about 17 million units expected to be sold. In the context of this trend, 7,793 electric vehicles were registered in Kazakhstan by the end of last year. The deputy noted that the increase in demand for environmentally friendly cars requires the development of appropriate infrastructure and improvement of the current legislation, which the proposed bill is aiming to rectify. The draft law aims to introduce new rules to ensure the installation of electric charging stations on roads, in residential and public areas. It also defines the competence of the authorities to locate electric charging stations, reserve the territory for them, and facilitates the parking and movement of electric vehicles. In addition, the bill provides for the exemption of electric car owners from parking charges. In addition, the deputies of the Mazhilis approved in its first reading a bill that provides for administrative liability for violating the rules of stopping or parking vehicles in places intended for recharging electric vehicles. The draft law "On amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the popularization of environmentally friendly transport and the development of infrastructure for electric vehicles" was approved.