update Updated
category Cooperation Transboundary cooperation
In June 2024, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan entered into an agreement to jointly develop, finance, and operate the Kambarata-1 Hydropower Plant (HPP) project under a joint public financing approach. The Kambarata-1 HPP will be located in the upstream reach of the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan with design capacity of 1,860 MW, a 256-meter-high dam, 5.4 billion cubic meter reservoir, and 5,600 GWh annual generation.
Upon the Kyrgyz Government request, the World Bank is providing comprehensive support to the development of Kamabarata-1 HPP project by updating the 2014 feasibility study to verify the technical feasibility and economic viability, preparing environmental and social documents, developing a sustainable financing plan and commercial framework and rendering project implementation support and capacity building. There is strong interest among development partners to co-finance the Kambarata-1 HPP project, and the Kambarata-1 HPP Donor Coordination Committee was established in June 2024, comprising major international financial institutions.
For many years the Kambarata-1 HPP project has been a point of controversies between the riparian countries concerned over its transboundary impact on the Naryn-Syrdarya river flow. This new tripartite initiative demonstrates the intention of the riparian countries to explore regional benefits from its coordinated construction and operation. The Kambarata-1 HPP project, with the use of multipurpose dam infrastructure, is considered now as a pivotal regional initiative in advancing regional cooperation in Central Asia by boosting energy production and improving water management.
Dr. Dinara Ziganshina, Director of SIC ICWC