The most underdeveloped economies of Central Asia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, both have relied heavily on Chinese investment but throughout 2014 Chinese FDI throughout Kyrgyzstan has dropped some 35%. The main influencing factors have been the decision to join the EEU and the constantly changing political leadership in Bishkek. Although some good news has come out…
Regional hydroelectricity project CASA-1000 has secured another leg of financing. Tajikistan, one of the proposed deal’s signatories, had struggled for several months to pay for power transmission lines that would traverse its territory, stifling the deal and casting doubt on the project’s ultimate success. Several international bodies, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,…
Plans to officially sign documents that would welcome Kyrgyzstan back into the tight embrace of its former Soviet countries are set to be signed on December 23, when Prime Minister Joomart Otorbayev will officially join the Customs Union, which will be renamed starting next year as the Eurasian Economic Union, comprising Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Russia.…
President Almazbek Atambayev, after completing a tour of his neighboring countries in Central Asia, announced a deal on Tuesday with neighboring Kazakhstan that would supply some 1,400 kilowatt hours of electricity to power-starved Kyrgyzstan. Atambayev has been on a tour around Central Asia courting power agreements, and has been able to ink key agreements with…
Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom will begin natural gas exploration operations this month, more than a year after the Moscow-based energy giant bought out Kyrgyzstan’s national gas company Kyrgyzgas. The commencement of operations will take place several months after Gazprom obtained ownership of Kyrgyzstan’s entire natural gas infrastructure, a move that was unpopular throughout the…
The Kyrgyz government is preparing for a major electricity shortage in the coming winter months, with a deficit reported at 1.5 billion kilowatt hours. To stave off massive blackouts, they have been preparing several contingencies to keep the already energy-starved country supplied with electricity. Agreements with Kazakhstan to provide between 500 million and 1 billion…
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