EU allocates $1 billion to Kyrgyzstan’s Kambar-Ata-1 hydropower project PHOTO

The European Union has pledged $2.4 billion in funding to support the development of the Kambar-Ata-1 Hydropower Plant (HPP) — a major regional energy initiative involving Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.

The announcement was made during the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, held on October 9–10, where Kyrgyz Energy Minister Taalaibek Ibraev held high-level meetings with EU officials, international financial institutions, and his counterparts from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Caliber.Az reports via Kyrgyz media. 

The funding aims to accelerate progress on the Kambar-Ata-1 HPP, a strategic infrastructure project set to strengthen energy security and promote a green energy transition in Central Asia.

Among the agreements signed was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Kyrgyz Ministry of Energy and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The document, signed by Minister Ibraev and EIB Director General Andrew McDowell, outlines up to $500 million in financing for the project.

A second MoU was formalised between the Kyrgyz Ministry of Energy and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The signing ceremony took place in the presence of EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso, with Minister Ibraev and EBRD Regional Director Hussein Ozhan agreeing on an additional $500 million in project funding.

These agreements come after the EU had previously expressed readiness to allocate $1 billion specifically for Kyrgyzstan, underlining the country’s central role in the regional clean energy transition.

By Sabina Mammadli