BISHKEK (TCA) — The Government of Kyrgyzstan has finally found funds to continue the reconstruction of the Balykchy—Tamchy—Cholpon-Ata—Korumdu section of the planned Ring Road around Lake Issyk-Kul. There is no information on sources of funding.
The Ministry of Finance has allocated 100 million soms for the project, which have been transferred to the Ministry of Transport and Communications and then directed to the general contractor, China’s Qingdao Longhai Road & Bridge Co., Ltd. Later the Government will transfer the remaining amount.
After the scandal over the Balykchy—Korumdu road construction and the subsequent change of the prime minister and Government, rehabilitation works have been suspended due to non-financing since April 28.
The company has now resumed road construction works but it will not be able to complete all 61 kilometers before the end of August, when the Second World Nomad Games will start at Issyk-Kul. The company plans to finish the road to Cholpon-Ata, where the event will take place, and the rest of the road to Korumdu will be finished before the end of the year.
At the end of April not only the Government but also the President of Kyrgyzstan was concerned about the missing 500 million soms for the road reconstruction. It turned out that the previous Government started the reconstruction but not provided the necessary funds, since it hoped to get the money from the sale of the MegaCom mobile operator but the tender was postponed to mid-May.
The problem was not in the Chinese company but in the previous Government that started the works without money, said the new Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov. When concluding a 6.8 billion som agreement with the Chinese construction company, the Kyrgyz Government committed to pay 10% of the amount but paid only 180 million soms. “The Government cannot refuse from the services of the Chinese company because it will damage the national budget. In the case of breaking the contract, Kyrgyzstan will have to pay 2.5 billion soms to the company,” Jeenbekov said. In addition, the road should be completed before the Second World Nomad Game, which will attract a large number of foreign guests and tourists.
According to Jeenbekov, part of the road works has already been completed. On the route to Korumdu, the Chinese company has built an asphalt plant with capacity of 320 tons per hour and installed two stone crushers which produce 280 tons of paving material per hour each. More than 50 pieces of equipment have been delivered. The company has invested $16 million and Kyrgyzstan owes to the company 324 million soms for the work done, the Prime Minister said.
A parliamentary commission investigated the legality of the tender for the 6.8 billion som reconstruction of the 104-km Balykchy—Korumdu motor road by the Chinese company. Under the conditions of the tender, the company should have a license issued by Kyrgyzstan’s authorized body. According to the commission, the Chinese company won the tender without such license and obtained it after the tender.
In 2015, Kyrgyzstan completed the rehabilitation of the first section of the Issyk-Kul Ring Road, Kuvak—Balykchy, from the 147th to 171st km.
The Issyk-Kul Ring Road goes through such densely populated areas around the Lake as Cholpon-Ata city, Ananyevo and Tyup villages, and others. Outside of Karakol city, the road passes through the southern part of the Kyzyl-Suu and Bokonbaevo villages to the Balykchy city, thereby closing the ring road around the lake. The length of the northern half of the ring road is 218 km and of the southern one 220 km. The road runs at a distance of around 5 km from the shore of the lake.
The Issyk-Kul Ring Road is of great economic importance for Kyrgyzstan. In Balykchy, which is one of the transportation hubs of the country, the road provides transport link between the Issyk-Kul, Chui and Naryn oblasts. It provides transport communication between China (through the Kashgar checkpoint) and Kazakhstan along the CAREC-1 corridor and Balykchy— Bokonbaevo—Tyup road. The Tyup— Kegen road provides access to Pakistan.
Moreover, the southern part of the Ring Road will provide an alternative link to Kyrgyzstan’s North-South road at the Karkyra checkpoint and further to Kazakhstan. There is a 144 km distance from the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan (Kegen checkpoint) to the junction with the Western part of the China-Western Europe highway.
