On February 25, Kyrgyzstan’s Ala-Too Resort OJSC and the Austrian company Doppelmayr, a global leader in cable car construction, signed a contract for the installation of four additional cable-car lines at the Jyrgalan resort. The site represents the first phase of the Ala-Too Resort project, a flagship state investment initiative to develop an all-season mountain ski cluster in the Issyk-Kul region, east of Lake Issyk-Kul.
Construction of the Ala-Too Resort cluster, which will combine three resorts, Jyrgalan, Ak-Bulak, and Boz-Uchuk, began in August 2025.
The new agreement follows a contract signed last year under which Doppelmayr is currently building two cable-car lines at Jyrgalan. Their commissioning is scheduled for May 2026.
The four additional cable-car lines are expected to be completed by the end of this year, with the official opening of Jyrgalan planned for December. Once operational, the total length of cable-car lines at the resort will exceed 8 kilometers, while ski trails will extend to 46 kilometers.
Doppelmayr has also completed a 1-kilometer cable-car line in the Ala-Archa State Nature Park, located about 30 kilometers from the capital, Bishkek. Officially opened on February 18, it became Kyrgyzstan’s first gondola lift.
According to the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, the Ala-Too Resort project will be implemented in stages through 2038, with total investments estimated at approximately €1.2 billion. The cluster aims to attract up to 4 million tourists annually.
The total area of the mountain cluster will cover 3,916 hectares, with ski slopes extending to 260 kilometers. Project developers state that this would place Ala-Too Resort among the world’s top ten resorts by total trail length and make it the largest ski destination in Central Asia.
The development plan includes the construction of private villas and three- to five-star hotels, as well as a panoramic restaurant, conference facilities, a medical center, a stadium, an amphitheatre, and recreational parks.
Infrastructure works are currently underway, including the construction of power transmission lines, drinking water systems, and wastewater treatment facilities. Reconstruction of the road linking Jyrgalan with Karakol, the administrative center of the Issyk-Kul region, has also begun.
The Ala-Too Resort project is expected to provide a significant boost to Kyrgyzstan’s tourism sector, positioning the country as a major destination for mountain skiing in Central Asia.
