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World Bank

World Bank Approves $20 Million Project to Boost Cross-Border Water Cooperation in Central Asia

The World Bank has announced a $20 million grant to strengthen transboundary water cooperation in Central Asia. The project is intended to improve management of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins as climate change, ageing infrastructure, and rising demand increase pressure on shared water resources. The funding, approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, will support the Central Asia Water Efficiency Cooperation Project (CAWEC). It will be implemented by the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EC IFAS). EC IFAS’s current procurement notice identifies Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as the participating states. According to the World Bank, limited cooperation over shared water and energy resources costs the region more than $4.5 billion a year. The bank says fragmented reservoir operations, weak data sharing, and ageing infrastructure prevent countries from capturing gains that better regional coordination could provide. The project will strengthen regional institutions, modernize water accounting and information systems, and improve data sharing. By 2031, EC IFAS is expected to prepare feasibility studies, technical documents, and environmental assessments for up to six transboundary water infrastructure projects involving at least two countries. The $20 million grant will not finance the construction of those projects. The preparatory work is intended to help governments attract further investment for irrigation modernization, water conservation and storage, and coordinated management of shared rivers. It will also support digital systems and equipment for the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins. Up to 100 staff members from regional water organizations will receive training. The World Bank estimates that around 40 million people will benefit directly or indirectly from improved regional water management. The International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea was established in 1993 by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to coordinate responses to the environmental and economic consequences of the Aral Sea disaster. The project concerns the Aral Sea basin’s two principal river systems. The Amu Darya is formed by headwaters rising mainly in the Pamirs and Hindu Kush and flows through or along Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The Syr Darya is fed by Tien Shan headwaters and crosses Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. Both rivers historically fed the Aral Sea. The grant arrives amid severe regional water stress. Central Asian governments agreed 2026 allocations from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya in November 2025, but low reservoir levels and reduced inflows continue to threaten irrigation and energy production. Kazakhstan is pursuing a parallel effort to restore the North Aral Sea, the section of the former inland sea fed by the Syr Darya. In a ministry statement, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Nurzhan Nurzhigitov said an additional 1.2 billion cubic meters of water should be directed to the North Aral by the end of 2026. According to the ministry, 1.4 billion cubic meters have been delivered since October 1, 2025. The North Aral now contains 23.5 billion cubic meters of water, while salinity has fallen by about 10% from a year earlier. Fishermen caught 4,200 metric...

Nearly Half of Young Women in Tajikistan Are Not Working or Studying, Survey Finds

New results from Tajikistan’s 2025 Labor Force Survey point to persistent structural weaknesses in the country’s labor market. Although the official unemployment rate remains relatively low, labor force participation is limited, particularly among women and young people. Of the country’s 6.87 million people aged 15–75, 3.02 million are in the labor force, producing a participation rate of 43.9%. The rate is 57.1% among men and 30.9% among women, a gap of 26.2 percentage points. The World Bank previously described Tajikistan’s labor force participation rate as the lowest in Central Asia. The official unemployment rate is 6.3%, but the survey’s expanded measure of labor underutilization presents a less favorable picture. This measure includes unemployed people and the potential labor force, as well as those experiencing time-related underemployment. On this basis, the rate rises to 11.7%. Among women, it approaches 14%. The survey also shows a gradual shift in where employed people live. The urban share of employment increased from 20% in 2004 to 28.4% in 2025, but 71.6% of employed people still live in rural areas. That figure demonstrates the rural concentration of employment, although it does not by itself show how many people work in agriculture. Separately, the World Bank estimates that agriculture employs more than 40% of Tajikistan’s labor force. The findings on young people are particularly stark. Among those aged 15–24, nearly 27% are not in education, employment or training (NEET). The rate is 40.1% among young women, compared with 13.2% among young men. The gender divide is even wider among those aged 15–29. In this group, 45% of women are neither employed nor pursuing education or training, compared with 12.4% of men. The figures suggest that Tajikistan’s main labor-market challenge is not fully captured by the conventional unemployment rate. People who are not working but are neither actively seeking employment nor immediately available to start work are generally not counted as unemployed. Low participation and high NEET rates therefore reveal pressures that the headline unemployment figure does not. Women and young people account for much of this unused labor potential. Expanding their access to employment will be especially important as the country’s working-age population grows. The World Bank estimates that about 600,000 young people will enter Tajikistan’s labor force over the coming decade and that the economy will need to generate approximately 1.4 million jobs during that period. It also describes the country’s economy as heavily dependent on the export of low-skilled labor and the remittances those workers send home. These concerns are reflected in the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Framework for Tajikistan for fiscal years 2026–2032. The strategy prioritizes a better-skilled and healthier workforce, along with increased private investment. It also seeks to create more and better jobs and calls for measures to raise labor force participation, particularly among women and young people. In May, the World Bank approved the Tajikistan Women’s Economic Empowerment Project. The initiative is expected to create 3,450 jobs and help 850 women-owned or women-led businesses gain access to financial services. It...

Rogun Hydropower Plant

World Bank Approves New $300 Million Grant for Tajikistan’s Rogun Hydropower Project

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved a second phase of financing for Tajikistan’s Rogun Hydropower Plant, providing a $300 million grant to support construction of what is expected to become the largest power station in Central Asia. According to the World Bank, the new funding from the International Development Association will finance civil works, electromechanical equipment for electricity generation, project implementation support, and environmental and social measures, including resettlement assistance and livelihood restoration for affected households. The financing will also support reservoir monitoring, forecasting systems, and flood-risk management for downstream communities. The Rogun project is expected to generate 14,400 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity annually, equivalent to roughly 60% of Tajikistan’s current electricity generation. The World Bank said the plant will help reduce the country’s chronic winter electricity shortages, improve access to reliable power for around 10 million people, create more than 30,000 direct and indirect jobs, and enable electricity exports to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. “In addition to reducing chronic power shortages, increased access to reliable electricity from the Rogun HPP will help power economic transformation and create jobs in Tajikistan,” said Najy Benhassine, the World Bank’s director for Central Asia. “By increasing the supply of clean electricity, this transformational project will help power homes, businesses, and public services, creating employment opportunities in the country.” The World Bank also said increased electricity exports would strengthen regional energy trade. “By facilitating electricity exports, the Rogun HPP will help revitalize the regional power market, allowing Central Asian countries to use their energy assets more efficiently,” said Charles Cormier, the bank’s director for infrastructure in Europe and Central Asia. “Enhanced regional connectivity is expected to reduce supply constraints in the region and contribute to improved reliability and energy security.” At the request of the government of Tajikistan, the World Bank is coordinating international support for the project through the Rogun Coordination Group. The group includes development partners that have approved or expressed interest in supporting the project, including the Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, European Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank, OPEC Fund, and several Gulf-based development funds. The latest financing comes as the project continues to face environmental scrutiny. Last year, The Times of Central Asia reported that the World Bank’s Inspection Panel had registered and reviewed a complaint concerning the bank’s involvement in the Rogun project. The complaint was submitted by the environmental coalition Rivers Without Boundaries on behalf of communities living downstream in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The complainants argued that the project’s environmental and social assessments were outdated and did not fully evaluate potential downstream impacts. Environmental groups warned that filling the Rogun reservoir could reduce water flow to the Amu Darya delta, potentially accelerating desertification, increasing soil salinity, and affecting livelihoods in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. In November 2025, environmental groups criticized the World Bank Board after it declined to authorize a full investigation, despite an Inspection Panel recommendation for a comprehensive review. The World Bank has said the project is subject to environmental and social safeguards,...

Education reform

World Bank Approves $100 Million to Improve Primary Education in Uzbekistan

The World Bank has approved $100 million in concessional financing to help Uzbekistan improve the quality of primary education, strengthen foundational learning skills, and expand school capacity in some of the country’s most underserved regions, the bank announced. The funding, provided by the International Development Association, will support the Transforming Public Education for Economic Growth (BILIM) Program. The initiative will also receive a $5 million grant from the International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd), marking the first partnership between IFFEd and the World Bank. Together with $273 million from Uzbekistan's government, the program has a total budget of $378 million. According to the World Bank, Uzbekistan’s public education system is under increasing pressure from rapid population growth and internal migration. School enrollment is expected to exceed 7.6 million students in 2026, requiring the construction of around 300 new schools every year to meet demand. Although more than 99% of primary school-age children are enrolled in school, learning outcomes in reading and mathematics remain below international standards. The bank also noted that teaching methods and teacher professional development require significant improvement. “Strengthening foundational skills in primary school, including reading, mathematics, and socio-emotional skills, is central to further building Uzbekistan’s human capital base and advancing its development,” said Najy Benhassine, the World Bank’s Division Director for Central Asia. “These skills will help children develop more advanced competencies and prepare them for the rapidly evolving jobs market. They are also critical to the country’s economic growth, which depends on a workforce capable of driving innovation.” The BILIM Program will be implemented by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Preschool and School Education and the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Karakalpakstan and the Khorezm, Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, Bukhara, and Navoiy regions. These areas account for about 45% of the country’s schools and face some of the greatest shortages of education infrastructure and learning resources. By 2030, the program aims to train 50,000 teachers, school leaders, and education administrators and create 27,000 student places through school construction and expansion. It will also improve education planning through better data collection and management. Around 2 million primary school students, half of them girls, are expected to benefit from the reforms. The financing adds to the World Bank’s existing education work in Uzbekistan. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, the bank approved a $250 million loan last December for the Edulmkon Program, a three-year initiative designed to expand access to higher and vocational education. Scheduled for implementation between 2026 and 2028, that program is expected to benefit around 600,000 young people. About 80% of the financing will go toward tuition loans for students from low-income families and women, who continue to face significant barriers to higher education.

Irrigation

International Donors Commit $172 Million to Upgrade Kyrgyzstan’s Irrigation System

International financial institutions and development partners have committed $172 million to a major irrigation modernization project in Kyrgyzstan, aimed at improving water security and farm productivity as climate pressures grow. The World Bank approved $95.75 million in financing on June 12 for the Kyrgyz Republic National Irrigation Investment Program, which seeks to improve irrigation services in selected areas across the country. The financing package also includes $50 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, $20 million from the OPEC Fund for International Development, and a $6.25 million grant from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The project is also expected to mobilize an additional $11 million in private capital. “The Kyrgyz Republic has set out a clear vision to modernize irrigation services and make water access more reliable for farmers and rural communities,” said Hugh Riddell, World Bank Group Country Manager for the Kyrgyz Republic. “By bringing together public and private financing, this program helps turn that vision into a long-term investment platform.” Agriculture remains one of Kyrgyzstan’s main economic sectors and a major source of employment, but outdated irrigation systems and high water losses continue to limit productivity. Climate change has added to these pressures, with rising temperatures, more frequent droughts, floods, and sedimentation putting greater strain on water resources. The new investment program aims to address these risks through infrastructure upgrades, institutional reforms, and better irrigation management. Authorities say the project will benefit more than 450,000 people, improve irrigation services across about 82,000 hectares of farmland, and raise water conveyance efficiency from 35% to at least 70%. Improved irrigation services are also expected to support around 85,000 additional jobs across agricultural value chains. The project will modernize irrigation and drainage infrastructure, improve water regulation and storage, and increase dam safety through smart water monitoring systems. It will also improve irrigation service delivery by upgrading operations and maintenance and raising the capacity of national and local institutions. Technical assistance and environmental oversight will support the preparation of future investments. The project will run through 2032 under the Water Resources Service of Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry. It forms part of a multi-phase government program expected to mobilize $540 million over the next decade. That wider initiative aims to modernize irrigation services on more than 200,000 hectares and benefit nearly one million people. Water-saving technologies remain central to Kyrgyzstan’s irrigation strategy. Earlier this year, the Cabinet of Ministers amended the country’s Medium-Term Electricity Tariff Policy for 2025-2030, freezing electricity tariffs for farmers using drip and sprinkler irrigation systems under state water conservation programs until May 2030. To encourage adoption, the government is also offering concessional loans at a 2% interest rate for farmers investing in water-saving irrigation methods. Although adoption remains relatively limited, it is accelerating. According to the ministry, modern irrigation technologies currently cover around 16,000 hectares, with plans to expand coverage by 30,000-40,000 hectares annually and reach 200,000 hectares under water-saving irrigation by 2030.

Water Security

Opinion: Water Without a Guarantor – Central Asia’s Next Security Test

The Fourth High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development,“ taking place in Dushanbe on May 25-28, comes at a difficult moment. Central Asia's water problem is no longer only about environmental management; it is moving into the field of regional security. The conference agenda is familiar and necessary: climate, investment, innovation, transboundary cooperation, and the implementation of the Water Action Decade. The harder question is what happens outside the conference hall. Does Central Asia still have a credible way to stop water stress from becoming an interstate crisis? For decades, the region operated in a post-Soviet setting in which Moscow shaped many security calculations, even though it was never a formal water arbiter. That setting has weakened. Russia has not disappeared from Central Asia, and it still retains military, economic, and institutional leverage. But since 2022, its role as the assumed external stabilizer has become less convincing. The result is not a simple vacuum. It is a more awkward reality: a region with many outside actors, but no trusted water-security guarantor. The Old Backdrop Is Weakening Central Asia's water system was built around a Soviet-era division of functions. Upstream republics, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, controlled the mountains, reservoirs, and hydropower potential. Downstream republics, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, depended on seasonal water flows for agriculture, food security, and social stability. The Soviet system managed those tensions through central planning. After independence, cooperation became more fragile. Water, energy, borders, electricity, and agriculture were separated into national strategies. The rivers, however, remained transboundary. For many years, Russia remained the largest external power around which regional security calculations were organized. That did not make Moscow an effective water manager, but it helped shape the political environment. Today, that environment has changed. The CSTO did not prevent the Kyrgyz-Tajik border escalations of recent years. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan eventually reached a border agreement through direct negotiation rather than outside enforcement. That difference is not academic. Water disputes are rarely settled by conferences alone. They need trusted channels for mediation, compensation, and restraint when pressure builds. Central Asia has plenty of statements about cooperation. It has fewer tools for managing coercion when water becomes scarce. Three Pressure Points The region's water-security stress is already visible in three places. The first is Afghanistan's Qosh-Tepa Canal. The canal draws water from the Amu Darya, a river system critical for Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Because Afghanistan was not part of the old Soviet water-allocation arrangements, the Taliban government is creating a new upstream reality outside the inherited regional framework. Estimates of the canal's downstream impact vary widely. Some analyses suggest it could divert between 15 and 30% of the Amu Darya's flow, depending on the completion timeline, irrigation efficiency, and water-management practices. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that reduced Amu Darya flows could indirectly affect Kazakhstan if Uzbekistan compensates by drawing more heavily on the Syr Darya. Carnegie has described the Qosh-Tepa as a serious test for regional water cooperation. The second pressure point...