On October 17, the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Akylbek Japarov, and the Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Du Dewen, attended a capsule-laying ceremony for the construction of a large trade and logistics center in the village of Leninskoye in the country’s northern Chui region.
Located just north of the capital, Bishkek, and a few kilometers from the border with Kazakhstan, the Manas Trade and Logistics City, will include a trading hub, an international exhibition center, a warehouse and logistics center with bonded areas, retail marketplaces, hotels, and residential compounds.
The facility will be built in partnership between a Chinese investor and a management company in which the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers will have a 49% share.
In his address at the ceremony, the Cabinet’s head, Japarov, stated: “We are launching a major project—not just the construction of a trade and logistics center, but an entire town. It will have 30,000 retail outlets, -cover-700 hectares, and a total investment of $4.2 billion. $700 million will be invested in the first stage of construction. This center can be compared with the largest sea ports in terms of its importance and functions.”
Japarov added that the creation of the facility will significantly contribute to the expansion of regional and international trade, the creation of new jobs, and the improvement of conditions for product exports.
China is now one of Kyrgyzstan’s largest trading partners. According to official statistics, bilateral trade reached $20 billion in 2023, 32% more than in 2022.
